Looking Out, Looking In: Contemporary Artists from Morocco

Looking Out, Looking In: Contemporary Artists from Morocco

February 8, 2019 – March 31, 2019

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 7, 6-8pm

Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery

Looking Out, Looking In: Contemporary Artists from Morocco brings together seven diverse Moroccan photographers and videographers for the first time.  Each works in a unique style and comes from a different background, but what links them is their exploration of how seeing is not always equated with knowing.  They recognize that the process of looking is a political act and seek to emphasize the ambiguity of meaning contained within the visual.  Some artists consider how Moroccan society is looked at by outsiders and confront the historical biases inherent in the colonial gaze.  Others imagine a world without borders, making sense of the boundaries that divide nation-states. Some consider aspects of Moroccan culture hidden from public view due to political oppression. Each uses their art to contemplate the moral and emotional experiences of looking in at oneself in response to looking out at the complex social issues that impact Morocco today.

Participating artists are Hassan Darsi, Wiame Haddad, Hassan Hajjaj, Randa Maroufi, Safaa Mazirh, Lamia Naji, and Nour Eddine Tilsaghani.

The exhibition is curated by Cynthia Becker, Associate Professor of African Art, Boston University Department of History of Art and Architecture and Nadia Sabri, Professor of Art History and curator, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco.

The exhibition is co-sponsored with Boston University’s African Studies Center, the Boston University Arts Initiative, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies & Civilizations, the Department of History of Art & Architecture. The Boston University Art Galleries programs are supported in part through a grant from the Boston Cultural Council and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

Curator Talk

“Looking at Morocco from Inside and Outside”

Thursday, March 28, 2019, 6:30

Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery

Curators Cynthia Becker (Boston University) and Nadia Sabri (University of Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco) will lead a guided tour of the exhibition and discuss the cultural and political contexts of the selected artworks.  The talk will coincide with the launch of the exhibition’s catalog followed by a closing reception.