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Agence France-Presse

A contemporary art fair has energised the local creative scene in Morocco’s tourist hub of Marrakech, drawing on the famed city’s aesthetic legacy to propel emerging African artists into the global spotlight.
The annual 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair has drawn collectors, curators and art enthusiasts from across the world, showcasing works from 30 galleries spanning 14 countries, both African and European.
Senegalese designer and curator Aissa Dione said 1-54’s Marrakech edition stands out for being “a restricted, very exclusive space”, which “gives more visibility” to the artists.
Named in reference to Africa’s 54 countries, the fair was launched in London in 2013 before expanding to New York in 2015 and Marrakech in 2018. This year’s Marrakech edition took place over four days in late January.

It operates on a smaller scale to fairs such as Art Basel, London’s Frieze or Paris’s FIAC, attracting around 10,000 visitors, including 3,000 from abroad.
But its more intimate setting has proved to be an advantage.
Claude Grunitzky, a Togolese entrepreneur and collector who travelled from New York to attend the event, said in other major fairs, gallery owners were under such financial pressure that, as a collector, he felt a bit harassed.
“What I love about Marrakech is the sense of conviviality and intimacy, which also allows you to discover artists you may not know,” added the collector, who also sits on the boards of trustees of MoMA PS1 in New York and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
Dione said her gallery sold three pieces at the fair for a total of about US$30,000.
“We received excellent feedback on our artists, and that’s important because a fair is not just about sales, it’s also about building relationships with future clients,” she said.

Canelle Hamon-Gillet, another curator, declined to disclose exact sales figures, but said: “We’re very happy because there was great synergy around our artists, and we sold six works.”
With the aim of giving “more visibility to African contemporary artists”, the fair typically generates “a few million dollars in sales”, according to its founder, Moroccan curator Touria El Glaoui.
“There’s a unique diversity offered by Morocco, thanks to its geographical position and its appeal as a tourist destination, which allows us to draw collectors from around the world,” she said.
The fair also offered works by a selection of well-known names such as Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo, whose work was bought by Britain’s prestigious Tate institution at the fair.

Yet much of the event focused on the African continent and rising talents from the diaspora.
Among the works exhibited were those of Ethiopian experimental photographer Maheder Haileselassie Tadesse and Sudanese-Somali ceramicist Dina Nur Satti.
Figurative paintings also marked a strong presence, with pieces from Nigerian painter Chigozie Obi and Ghanaian artist Adjei Tawiah.
Prices ranged from as little as US$50 for screen prints to several thousand dollars for larger works.
“The energy this fair brings to the African art scene is exceptional,” said French-Moroccan artist Margaux Derhy, who exhibited hand-embroidered portraits with Morocco’s L’Atelier 21 gallery.


Moroccan artists and curators not taking part in the fair also embraced the momentum of 1-54 as it turned the bustling city into a cultural hub.
Nearby galleries and studios held their own exhibitions and visits to capitalise on foreigners flooding into the Ochre City.
“If our visitors only went to the 1-54, they would spend an hour there and there would be nothing left to see,” Glaoui said in jest.
Galleries from other cities have even expanded to Marrakech in response to the fair’s success.

Casablanca-based La Galerie 38, for instance, recently opened a space in the city.
“The fair was one of the factors that pushed us to establish a presence here,” said Fihr Kettani, its founder.
“Marrakech has made enormous strides in artistic appeal over the past few years,” he added. “The fair is now an unmissable event.”


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1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech draws collectors from around the world

A visitor looks at an installation during the 1-54 Marrakesh contemporary African art fair on January 30, 2025. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

A visitor walks past artworks by Cameroonian artist Hako Hankson during the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakesh, Morocco, on January 30, 2025. Other well-known artists at the event included Amoako Boafo, Maheder Haileselassie Tadesse, Dina Nur Satti, Chigozie Obi and Adjei Tawiah. Photo: AFP

A visitor looks at artwork on display at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair on, January 30, 2025. Photo: AFP

A visitor looks at artworks by South African artist Kendell Geers (left and centre) and Moroccan artist Younes Khourassani (right) during the fair. Photo: AFP

A visitor walks past artworks by Ivorian artist Ange Dakouo and Ghanian artist Adjei Tawiah during the fair. Photo: AFP

A visitor walks past artworks by Ethiopian artist Tegene Kunbi (left and centre) and Nigerian artist Samuel Nnorom (right) during the fair. Photo: AFP

A visitor looks at an installation at the fair. Photo: AFP

The fair showcased works from 30 galleries spanning 14 countries. Photo: AFP

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The VIP preview of 1-54 African art fair in London on October 12, 2023. In Hong Kong next year it will exhibit 25-30 works by various African artists. Photo: courtesy of 1-54

Touria El Glaoui, founder of 1-54 art fair. Photo: Jim Winslet

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Lilian Nabulime’s clay sculpture pieces exhibited during the “Olugamba exhibition at Xenson Art Space in Kamwokya, Kampala, the capital of Uganda, Tuesday Nov. 28 2023.Lilian Nabulime hasn’t forgotten the time in the 1990s when the Ugandan capital had just one commercial art gallery, a small space that emerging artists struggled to get into. Now there are at least six in Kampala, including one whose curators recently exhibited the sculptor’s contrarian work. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda.)

Lilian Nabulime stands next to a wooden sculpture piece at her workshop in Kyanja, a suburb in Kampala City, Wednesday Nov. 29 2023. Lilian Nabulime hasn’t forgotten the time in the 1990s when the Ugandan capital had just one commercial art gallery, a small space that emerging artists struggled to get into. Now there are at least six in Kampala, including one whose curators recently exhibited the sculptor’s contrarian work. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda.)

Visitors to Xenson Art Space in Kampala view sculptures by Ugandan artist Lilian Nabulime. Photo: AP

Lilian Nabulime shows a wooden sculpture she is working on at her workshop in Kampala. Photo: AP 

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Lifestyle

Arts

More intimate than Art Basel or London’s Frieze, Marrakech’s 1-54 focused on both rising talents and well-known names such as Amoako Boafo


More intimate than Art Basel or London’s Frieze, Marrakech’s 1-54 focused on both rising talents and well-known names such as Amoako Boafo.


Africa

Morocco