SpEcial Report! Cultural Moussem of Asilah The Festival of Asilah 2008 morocco The Atlantic Coast
Moussem of Asilah At the beginning of XX century, Asilah belonged to the Spanish Protectorate territory. After the independence of 1956, the Spanish were not the only ones who left Asilah. The Jews also left due to the recent creation of the State of Israel. The walls, most representative buildings and most of the constructions inside the medina area, ran the risk of collapse during the seventies. The streets were not paved; sewage flowed only regarding the law of gravity; rubbish was collected by eleven donkeys that knocked on the doors with their snout. Overhead power lines dated from 1926, erected during the Spanish protectorate period So the situation was not quite so decadent by then. What is sure is that it did not differ from that of other towns of Morocco. But, when Mohamed Benaïsa, current Foreign Affairs Minister, and Mohamed Melehi, president of the Moroccan Painters Society, app- Engraving shops - Palace of Culture
Engraving Hakim Ghailan Youth Workshop, Palace of Culture Yunes al Kharraz lied for the municipal elections in 1976, the destiny of Asilah changed tack. Both were born in Asilah, brought up in the bosom of aristocratic families. After twenty years of absence abroad, firstly taking up university degrees, and holding relevant positions afterward, they come back to Asilah. I have seen the men. I have seen the stones. I also have seen the shadows, the shapes and the dimensions. And I have seen myself, coming back to myself and towards myself. I have rediscovered my own being, which had almost been carried away by fo- Gallery Planos Oil-painting Yunes al Kharraz
reign winds. That is how Benaïsa described his return to his hometown in his autobiography titled The Wrinkled Skin. Worried about the degradation the city had plunged into, they start putting forward solutions designed for the restoration of the old part of the city. In 1978 they invited to Ashila a group of artist friends, from diverse nationalities, to perform wall paintings. The peeled off walls were their canvases, and the city itself their palettes. The inhabitants of Asilah themselves, mainly the children, took part in the project helping the artists in their tasks. After the success of this first initiative, Benaïsa and Melehi decide to organise an artistic festival every summer: The Cultural Moussem of Asilah. Wallpaintings of Asilah Hassan II Centre
Moussem is a word of Arabic origins which means season. It is used to designate religious and agrarian feasts. The fact of preferring this word (so emblematic and deep-rooted in local tradition) to others like `festival, was due to the aim of the founders to link the culture to the progress of the city without forgetting its roots. Thus, put straight into the manifesto of creation like a desperate scream, was: Against the excesses of the imported western culture, against the culture of the clubs, against alienation, against the elitist congresses, against the culture of artistic exhibitions in the galleries of the well-catered-for, against the culture of the mean dialectic meetings. The cultural association Al Mouhait was created that same year to organise the events of the festival. As of then public and private investors began to take interest in the project. The Portuguese walls, Karma tower, and Raïssouni palace were restored in order to house workshops and exhibitions. The town was gradually being provided with basic infrastructures: the streets were paved, the old houses renovated; always following their craft patterns. Thirty years afterwards the town attracts artists - Moroccan as well as foreign; not only during the period when the Moussem is being held, but all year round. Many of the children of Asilah who participated during the first years helping the artists or painting the walls or doing engravings in the workshops are today established Moroccan artists. Raïssouni Palace, also called The Palace of Culture
Main activities and events of the Cultural Moussem of Asilah (Every year, from the beginning of August till the end of the month) -Wall paintings. Different Moroccan and foreign artists create wall paintings in the white walls of the buildings of the medina. It is the hallmark of the festival and consequently, of the city itself. In this activity the children and youth of Asilah take part, for whom open workshop are carried out, as well. -Engraving workshops. It is another of the hallmark activities of the festival. The first acquisition of the Cultural Association Al Muhit were two printing frames. Every year, about fifteen engraving artists, internationally known, exchange their experiences and techniques. At the end of the Mussem, every artist donates part of his work to the Association, which, after almost thirty years, has an impressive collection. -Shows. Poetry readings, concerts and dance shows from all around the World, as well as traditional and contemporary Moroccan ones. Although at the beginning the shows were free and took place in the open air, more recently there has been a cover charge, and most of them are held in the Hassan II Centre or in the Raïssouni Palace. -Mata. The party of the Man and the Horse. It is a play of ancient tradition, in which the raiders have to take possession of a big doll and keep hold of it during a crazy ride. -Conference and lectures in the Hassan II International Meeting Centre. Forum of debate and dialogue among intellectuals of any tendency. Artistic creation, architecture, urbanism, and many other disciplines are discussed here. Known personalities of the Arabic world take part. -In the framework of the intercultural North-South dialogue, two institutions were founded: Afro-Arabic Cultural Forum and the University of Al Mutamid Ibn Abbad, that took its name from a King from Seville in the XI century, outstanding thinker and poet. It was created in order to promote dialogue between the Arabic and the Spanish worlds. - Tchicaya U Tam si African poetry Prize. - Buland el Haydari Arabic Poetry Prize.
Special Thanks To Yunes al Kharraz, responsable of the Photos : Jesús Lopez Art department at the internationl Festival of Asilah. Text: Translation: Design/Layout: Migel Angel Calle Chatherine Reddington Eiko Liefold