“ECHOS” - Talk
Art from Rabat
Talk with artists from the exhibition „ECHOS“
Languages: English, German
Cooperation Heinrich Böll Foundation + Le Cube - independent art room Rabat
With Aàdesokan Adedayo/ Nigeria, Younes Ben Slimane/ Tunisia, Fatim Benhamza/ Morocco, Hicham Houdaifa/ Morocco
Moderation: Elizabeth Pisternik/ Morokko/ Austria
Prolonged droughts, water shortages and increasingly more natural disasters – these are impacts of climate change that both Europe and (North) African countries are experiencing. Certain social groups are more affected than others, which exacerbates existing inequalities - in some cases in life-threatening ways.
It is the task of government to develop laws and guidelines that not only promote climate and environmentally friendly behaviour but also protect and support particularly vulnerable groups – in balance with or, if necessary, counter to economic interests and entrenched social privileges, whether in national or global contexts.
In the exhibition “ECHOS”, five artists from Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia address environmental problems in terms of their context, causes, consequences and the role of humans in this globalised network, and show how people in these countries experience the challenges.
In the current global context marked by economic and social inequalities, climate change as well as increasing population migration, actors from civil society are becoming increasingly involved in the debate and committed to change. In Morocco, they are drawing on seemingly long-forgotten knowledge to adapt to climate change. As seismographs of society, artists use their vision, discourse and work to highlight grievances, develop new forms and ways of thinking, galvanise and thus raise social awareness.
But can civil society engagement through art and traditional knowledge and skills achieve change - a profound social, gender-just and ecological transformation as called for by the Green New Deal? Or even just participate in it? What place do fiction, diverse narratives and civil society engagement have in the dynamics of social change?
The discussion will be followed by the opening reception of the exhibition “ECHOS” in the presence of the artists.
On the Podium
Fatim Benhamza was born in Casablanca where she lives and works. Trained as an architect, she studied at the Ecole Supérieure d'Architecture de Casablanca. Her passion for art and contemporary urban issues has led her to explore the collision grounds between these two fields. Urban planning, sustainable development, public space, architectural forms, materials, are all elements that challenge and inspire her. Her artistic work observes, questions, and reimagines the existing city through architectural drawing, digital illustrations, and collages.
Younes Ben Slimane lives and works in Tunis. He is initially an architect trained at the l'École Nationale d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme in Tunis, before discovering a vocation for contemporary art. Since then, Younes Ben Slimane has been developing a logical artistic approach that he describes as existential. Using various mediums, he observes, analyses and is inspired by the lives and landscapes he encounters to create his work.
Aàdesokan Adedayo was born in Lagos. The artist creates to incite change, any form of it on a supraliminal level. Although his expressions are eclectic, they are centered around the discourse of philosophy, analytical psychology and theology. His works usually stem from ceaseless inquisitions realized through research – whilst leveraging his background education as a Mechanical Engineer – to formulate balanced compositions of art, photography and literature that enshrine all his thoughts and inquiries.
Hicham Houdaïfa, born in Casablanca, has been a journalist since 1996. He has worked for several media outlets, including Al Bayane, where he wrote the society section. Between 1999 and 2002, he was a correspondent for “Afrique Magazine” in New York. Today, he is a regular contributor to the weekly “La Vie économique”. During his career, Hicham Houdaïfa has mainly worked on societal issues: freedom of worship, women's rights, the situation of sub-Saharan migrants. He is co-founder with journalist Kenza Sefrioui of “En toutes lettres”, a publishing house specializing in journalistic essays, where he directs the collection “Enquêtes”.
• 2021 Maroc: Justice climatique – urgences sociales