MONTAZAMI, Morad; DE COLNET, Madeleine; SCHLICHT, Esther (eds.)
Casablanca Art School: A Postcolonial Avant-Garde 1962–1987
Just a few years after Morocco gained independence in 1956, a vibrant center of cultural renewal developed in Casablanca. Led by artists such as Farid Belkahia, Mohammed Chabâa, Bert Flint, Toni Maraini, and Mohamed Melehi, together with students, teachers, and associated artists, the Casablanca Art School soon became a central driver of the development of a postcolonial modern art in the region.
The School combined an openness toward local history with the new social reality, reassessing the relationship between art, handicrafts, design, and architecture within the local context. In dialogue with the ideas of the Bauhaus manifesto, artistic influences from Western metropolises were considered together with elements of the vernacular legacy which had been undermined during the colonial era.
The publication offers a comprehensive overview of the impact of the Casablanca Art School. An essay by Morad Montazami goes through the history of the School, while an essay by Fatima-Zahra Lakrissa deals with Morocco’s vernacular artistic heritage, and an examination of the role and significance of public space is proposed by Maud Houssais.
Published in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition at Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt.
Published by Spector Books, 2024
Design by Bonbon Visuelle Gestaltung
Exhibition Catalogues / Scenes / Postcolonial Studies
