Morocco Is Where It’s At: Take a Look Inside the Mbari House at Jajjah
Last weekend we travelled to Marrakech for The Mbari House, a moving, experiential concept showcasing Morocco’s creative scene, brought to life by the team behind Oasis Festival, Cultivora.
The one day event was hosted by Hassan Hajjaj in his new collaborative space — Jajjah — on the post-industrial fringes of the city now dubbed the creative hub of Marakkech. The Mbari House is about spotlighting the creative ecosystem of Morocco that stretches across disciplines and connects generations, it’s part of a collaborative movement that is shaping the future of Moroccan culture.
In Marrakech, Arabic lettering dances across signage, locals gather in circles outside the medina making music and moving to the rounded rhythms made by traditional instruments played from the seat of a rusted scooter. Landing in the city is like putting red tinted glasses on; rows of apartment blocks and cultural buildings are bathed in a rich pink hue like the colour of the sun falling too-heavy into the sky. It’s a city straddling the East and West, the old and new, conservatism and liberalism.
The Mbari House is a reflection of Morocco’s creative scene – established names using their platform to support emerging talent – and Hassan Hajjaj stands at the very centre. Hassan’s practice is rooted by collaboration; over the years he has built a community of creatives and started conversations around where culture is at, and where it’s headed. Working closely with Marjana Jaidi of Cultivora, The Mbari House bill featured big names in Moroccan hip hop like ElGrandeToto and Draganov, alongside rapidly emerging talent like Khtek. Earlier in the day, curator Janine Gaelle moderated a discussion on notions of collectivism and collaboration in the art world, which was followed by a panel on the rise of hip hop culture in Morocco – the conversation always shifted back to collaboration and the do-it-yourself approach that runs through the local scene. Along with a thoughtful cultural programme and lineup, the crowd – made up of casting directors, photographers, unconventional tour guides, producers, curators – played a big part in shaping the feeling of the event; everyone embodied the same electric ‘something-is-bubbling’ energy that Hassan and Marjana tried to put into words when we spoke.
With a Moroccan father, Marjana is one of the creatives who has reconnected with her heritage after living in the city she grew up in, New York. Over the weekend we continued to meet creatives with a connection to Morocco (including Hassan himself), who have returned in recent years, Marjana tells us, “I’m seeing a lot of people who are from here return to elevate the country. There’s a very strong sense of patriotism, people always want to do good things for their country…people want to elevate Morocco because it’s a great place.” Marjana is injecting a new energy into the Moroccan event space, departing from the norm to explore the nuances of the music scene, The Mbari House shows that the destination festival format doesn’t have to be electronic only.
The Mbari House is about spotlighting the creative ecosystem of Morocco that stretches across disciplines and connects generations; it’s part of a wider collaborative movement that is shaping the future of Moroccan culture. Rapper Khtek (whose stage name nods to Arabic cuss ‘Your Sister’) talks about how important it is for established names to platform lesser-known talent, “ElGrandeToto was one of the first artists to share the freestyle I released and it helped new people discover me. I will never forget that support when I was just starting out. We are creating a network, an ecosystem that is independent. Since I have succeeded in building a platform, I’m able to present other female and LGBTQI+ artists and creators.”
When talking about the new energy in Morocco’s creative scene pushed forward by local talent, Hassan says, “The scene keeps on growing, we have great talent in film, music, photography and design, if I’m a hip hop artist I will know there’s a kid making videos, and there’s another kid who can do the editing. It’s a chain reaction… Say there were just 15 of us making noise a few years back, there’s now 500 of us”. Khtek refers to the scene as a community growing together, united by a desire to change the systems they exist in,
“The people I used to strike with during the Arab Spring are the same people I work with now. We have evolved but somehow have the same core and essence. Youth culture in Morocco is about fighting for freedom but still adapting to the laws and norms of society”.
The traditional scene of Morocco has been well documented for the rest of the world to absorb – namely the country’s artisanal craftsmanship and conservative politics – but less is known about the evolving contemporary culture. Marjana says, “I think there are a lot of initiatives that show and preserve ancient, traditional culture. My interest is in showing the new, modern side of Morocco”. When talking with Khtek about Morocco’s youth culture, she says, “I think we are returning back to our ancestors and reconnecting with our roots and culture. We are trying to heal from what we lived as a country and as a people who lived through colonialism. We are finding our way back to our Amazigh and North African roots; owning our identity and modern culture. A lot of creators in Morocco are linking their modern self with their ancestral roots – this is the only way we can own who we are in this world.”
In Morocco, tradition has become enmeshed with newness to create something that feels both foreign and familiar, you can hear it in the music, see it in art and taste it in the food. Social media has played a big role in catapulting the Moroccan creative scene into worldview; in conversation with Hassan about how Moroccan youth culture has shifted over the years, he explains that creatives now have a platform to express themselves and build a business from their creativity, “If you’re into photography, you can research the best equipment to use and understand what sells”. Khtek is the living proof: she attributes her rapid rise to viral freestyle videos and social media competitions back in 2019.
Today, Moroccan culture is evolving and the rest of the world is watching – The Mbari House at Jajjah being an example – but what direction is culture heading in? In the face of conservative gender politics, female representation in Morocco’s creative scene is slowly growing, a movement steered by artists like Khtek, “For me, being a rapper in Morocco can be very challenging and sometimes very painful because you are not seen as a ‘rapper’, you are seen as a ‘female who is trying to rap’. You can’t be the best rapper in Morocco but you can be the best female rapper."
"It’s very challenging but a lot of women are trying to make their voices heard through different mediums…There are a lot of communities who are getting together and building the history of Morocco, the new Morocco, the free youth culture of Morocco.”
When talking about the future, Khtek says it’s not about blending the old with the new, it’s about allowing both traditional and contemporary to coexist alongside each other, “The perfect point we can reach is to understand that Morocco can be diverse, you can have people like me with their tattoos and their opinions being okay with their mother wearing the veil as a conservative, traditional lady. This is the point we should get to: to be diverse and accept diversity.” You see fleeting snapshots of what Khtek’s vision might look like when walking past the curb side cafes of Marrakech where veiled women share tables with those wearing denim cutoffs, diving into tiny dishes piled with olives and honey served with doughy disks of bread, and pouring sweet mint tea together.
When talking about the future, Khtek says it’s not about blending the old with the new, it’s about allowing both traditional and contemporary to coexist alongside each other, “The perfect point we can reach is to understand that Morocco can be diverse, you can have people like me with their tattoos and their opinions being okay with their mother wearing the veil as a conservative, traditional lady. This is the point we should get to: to be diverse and accept diversity.” You see fleeting snapshots of what Khtek’s vision might look like when walking past the curb side cafes of Marrakech where veiled women share tables with those wearing denim cutoffs, diving into tiny dishes piled with olives and honey served with doughy disks of bread, and pouring sweet mint tea together.
The Mbari House at Jajjah brought the creative community together to celebrate a new wave of talent and probe the parameters of what it means to be Moroccan today. Join the conversation at the next edition of The Mbari House, taking place in 2023 to coincide with 1–54 Contemporary African Art Fair, or book your tickets for Into the Wild, concepted by Cultivora in partnership with La Karavane.
