CONCRETE, ALSERKAL AVENUE, DUBAI (14 MARCH – 4 APRIL 2020) New Waves: Mohamed Melehi and the Casablanca Art School Archives

Alserkal Arts Foundation will present New Waves: Mohamed Melehi and the Casablanca Art School Archives in Concrete, Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, from 14 March - 4 April 2020. Curated by Morad Montazami and Madeleine de Colnet, the exhibition tells the story of the radical Casablanca Art School, retracing Melehi’s career chronologically—from the 1950s to the 1980s – as well as including some of the artist’s contemporary works.

Mohamed Melehi, Untitled, 1970-1971, cellulose paint on wood. Private collection / Courtesy artist and Zamân Books & Curating

Mohamed Melehi is widely regarded as a major figure of postcolonial Moroccan art and transnational modernism. Previously unseen works and archives present Melehi as a painter, photographer, muralist, graphic and urban designer, art teacher, and cultural activist.

Originally was produced by The Mosaic Rooms in London, where it was shown from 12 April - 22 June 2019. Currently on show at MACAAL in Marrakech until 5 January 2020, the forthcoming presentation of New Waves in Concrete will be a further expanded exhibition. It will include a recently archived collection of Melehi’s documentary photography—over 30 years of artistic travel and visual activism journeys—as well as highlights from the golden age of the Asilah festival. The Festival, co-founded by Melehi in 1978, gathered avant-garde artists from Africa, Asia, and Arab countries.

Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Founder of Alserkal, says: “New Waves is an expression of an ‘invisible history’ that has shaped the MEASA region intellectually and aesthetically, which Alserkal Arts Foundation will bring to international audiences in Dubai. This presentation furthers our commitment as a Foundation, and as a family, to keep these artistic legacies alive.”

Vilma Jurkute, Director of Alserkal, adds: “Alserkal Arts Foundation is honoured to present this major survey of Melehi’s work and the Casablanca Art School. We hope that the extensive documentation of his work will initiate new research and further historical discourse beyond regional geographies, resonating with our academic communities here.”

Mohamed Melehi, Flame, 1975, cellulose paint on wood. Collection of the artist

The Dubai iteration will also show works from renowned artists of the Casablanca Art School, such as Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Chabâ, and Hossein Miloudi. A photography archive will shed light on the collective history of the movement. The travelling exhibition marks the first time that the full period of Melehi’s works has been shown on a global stage.

From 1964 to 1974, Melehi and a small group of artists led a radical development of arts education at the Casablanca Fine Art School. Archives and photographic material from the school convey the spirit of collective knowledge through experimental displays and site-specific works. The school combined different studios of painting, photography, decoration, graphic design, and typography, and encouraged students to look beyond Western art history, to local art production for inspiration. The exhibition in Dubai will reveal Melehi’s key role in the development of art pedagogy and experimental practices in Morocco, as well as his significant work in graphic design and mural painting, which has contributed heavily in shaping the aesthetics of significant artistic networks and political causes throughout the Maghreb and the Pan-Arab alliances.

The curator Morad Montazami says “The relevance of Mohamed Melehi’s artistic legacy goes back to his pioneering role in postcolonial and cosmopolitan art history. Rooted in the Independence of Morocco in 1956, his ability to navigate the shifting borders of the region allowed him to create a genuine visual culture for the development of the Global South. Anybody interested in rethinking those borders today can find true inspiration in him.”

New Waves: Mohamed Melehi and the Casablanca Art School Archives is presented by Alserkal Arts Foundation. Curated by Zamân Books & Curating, the original exhibition was produced by The Mosaic Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation.