‘An Instant before the World’

Scenography design Rabat Biennale

The Biennale is organised in the Moroccan capital, from September 24th to December 18th, 2019. It was designed by the art historian and philosopher Abdelkader Damani, the guest curator.

The theme of the inaugural Rabat Biennale is ‘An Instant before the World’ and will explore artistic practices and art history from the perspective of the Global South taking the city of Rabat – which was appointed “City of light” and cultural capital of Morocco - as its starting point. This inaugural biennale will create a dialogue across artistic disciplines from the visual arts and architecture to dance and performance and seeks to tease out some of the complexities related to the urgent need for creativity by examining the reasons,  revolts, and decisive moments that drive artists to take action and contribute to the making of history.

  The museum space is organized around a regular grid, a sequence of rooms. At the center the space is designed as a place for sharing ideas. From this space it is possible to look at the work of the artists as an entire world. After observing the work as a whole the visitor can go through the sequence of rooms.

 The international exhibition, dedicated entirely to women artists, is set across significant cultural sites in Rabat. It brings together 63 artists and artist collectives, from 27 different nationalities and disciplines. Among them, visual artists and painters (Mona Hatoum, Etel Adnan, Marcia Kure, Ghada Amer, Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Amina Benbouchta, Candice Breitz …), sculptors (Sara Favriau, Ikram Kabbaj), filmmakers and videographers (Tala Hadid, Habiba Djahnine…), choreographers, stage directors and performers (Bouchra Ouizguen, Séverine Chavrier…), photographers (Deborah Benzaquen, Mouna Jemal Siala), digital artists (Naziha Mestaoui), and architects (BLACK SQUARE, Manthey Kula, Zaha Hadid, Maria Mallo…).

Among the Biennale’s highlights, will be a vibrant tribute paid to the Egyptian singer, Oum Kalthoum, the first artist selected by the curator, Abdelkader Damani when he was invited to curate this inaugural edition.  A projection of her celebrated concert in Rabat in 1968 will be on display at the Biennale.

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