We wander through the streets, get lost in the souks, slaloming with the motorcycles and donkey-pulled buggies. This is Ben Youssef, a neighborhood that hasn’t changed despite the major transformations affecting Marrakesh. This is the traditional environment where, two years ago, photographers Patrick Manac’h and Hamid Mergain created the Maison de la Photographie. Manac’h has been traveling, collecting, and learning about photography since his adolescence.
In a charming Riyadh, they expose the photographic treasures they have gathered over the years. 6000 documents dating from 1870 to 1950, a visual memory of Morocco. Their current exhibition, “Memory of a place, memory of a nation” is on display in honor of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Djemaa el Fna square as a UNESCO Heritage of Humanity Masterpiece.
The Maison organizes exhibitions featuring the talents of professionals including Marcelin Flandrin in addition to amateurs (Félix, Garaud, Blin, Meyer) and some anonymous photographers. The collection covers the entirety of Morocco, with images from the coast, the northern Rif, the south, its people and trades, its music and its dances, its religions, and sky views from Marcelin Flandrin. There are a few aesthetic jewels that reveal not only the anthropological talent of Flandrin, but also his artistic eye.
The Maison de la Photographie also occupies other locations, like the lovely Denise Masson Riyadh featuring an exhibit about the city of Fès. Photography is now a part of the landscape in the red city of Marrakesh and has only just begun to explore the riches and diversity of this nation and its people.
Paul Alessandrini
Maison De La Photographie de Marrakech
46 rue souk Ahal Fés ,Marrakech
Ben Youssef Neighborhood
Tel 05 24 38 57 21
