In Conversation With : Morad Montazami Part 2

Author Daf Beirut

A series of in depth interviews with Arthur Debsi, writer and researcher at Dalloul Art Foundation where he discusses various subjects with professionals in the Arab world.

Morad Montazami – Art Historian, publisher, curator, Zamân Books & Curating director

Part 2. In May 1969, six artists of the Casablanca Art School Group, including Farid Belkahia (1934-2014), Mohamed Melehi (1936-2020), Mohammed Chebaa (1935-2013), and Mohamed Hamidi (1941-); organized an outdoor manifesto-exhibition called ‘Plastic Presence’ in Jemaa el-Fna square. Later on, the event would take place at the Place du 16 Novembre in Casablanca in June 1969, which marked a fundamental transition in the artistic practice in Morocco. In the second part of the conversation, Morad Montazami reminds that, even after the independence of Morocco in 1958, the teaching of fine arts under the European model continued. Yet, with the manifesto-exhibition ‘Plastic Presence’, the artists would transcend the walls of the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca to integrate their works in a local popular landscape, either streets or public places. Montazami also tells the story of the Asilah Festival of Arts, inaugurated in the summer of 1978 by Mohamed Melehi (1936-2020) and Moroccan photographer Mohammed Benaïssa; which he describes as a ‘social’ event. This festival especially aimed to preserve the architectural heritage of city that was in bad condition, through artistic creations like mural paintings on the walls.

Video recorded on Zoom by Arthur Debsi

Edited by Christine Labban