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MARRAKECH BIENNALE / IN CONVERSATION WITH MOHAMED AMINE KABBAJ 5/5 ARTAFRICA

Mohamed Amine Kabbaj

Mohamed Amine Kabbaj’s position in the sixth Marrakech

Biennale follows a Vice Presidency in the fifth event as

well as curating ‘Biennale Off,’ a parallel project in the

fourth event. The contemporary art collector has curated

shows in the Marrakech Art Fair and served on the Board

of Arts in Marrakech (AiM). He had previously started his

own architecture firm and engaged in social development

projects around Marrakech.

Photograph: © Marrakech Biennale

FEATURE / MARRAKECH BIENNALE

ART AFRICA: Congratulations on your appointment as this year’s President

for the sixth Marrakech Biennale! Please could you tell us a bit about the

biennale’s history, as well as your personal involvement with the event?

Mohamed Amine Kabbaj: I have a long history with Vanessa Branson, the founder

of the biennale. The first edition was originally founded as a festival called Art in

Marrakech. I moved to Marrakech in 1980. I met Vanessa as an architect, having

worked (in early 2000) on restoring the premises of Riad El Fenn, which is a twenty-

seven bedroom guesthouse in the Medina of Marrakech, co-owned by Vanessa.

My involvement with the biennale started in 2011 when Vanessa and I decided to

collaborate for the fourth edition, which was held in 2012. I also curated an exhibition

with seven artists working with local handicrafts. At the end of this edition, Vanessa

appointed me as the Executive Vice President of the Marrakech Biennale.

I think she has given Marrakech a beautiful gift in founding this biennale. To

show his gratitude, King Mohammed VI decorated both Vanessa and myself in

October 2014 for our involvement in encouraging art in Morocco. This gave us

new energy to continue pursuing our endeavours. But in order to not be financially

or administratively implicated in the set up of the biennale, Vanessa stood down

from being the Executive President and turned over that role to me. She is now

our Founding President and an active member of the board and continues to keep

abreast with the developments of the biennale.

How does this year set itself apart from previous editions of the biennale and

how do you see it developing from this point?

The most important thing for the Marrakech Biennale is to give it a sense of being

different from the other biennales in the world. With the fifth edition, we started

MARRAKECH BIENNALE / IN CONVERSATION WITH MOHAMED AMINE KABBAJ 3/9 ARTAFRICA