(3 Mar 2014) Music and art - Marrakesh is alive with the sounds and sights of this year's Biennale.
Entitled 'MurMurMure' by Gabriel Lester, this is one of the many works on show using traditional Moroccan Gnawa instruments.
The Marrakesh Biennale asks the question: "Where are we now?"
And for the storks nesting on the rooftop, the answer is the Badii Palace.
It was built in the 16th century under the kingdom of the Saadians when Marrakesh was the capital of the kingdom.
Its name translates as incomparable and it is a symbol of the cultural influences that underpin the city. It was constructed at a time when Marrakesh had a direct impact on the rest of the world.
Although the palace grounds are vast, the biennale has been careful not to impose huge artworks and so obscure or overwhelm the space.
Dar Si Said, a 19th century mansion, is today a museum of 19th century art - and another space where contemporary pieces are displayed.
Alya Sebti, the Artistic Director, says the aim of this biennale is to trigger renewed interest in the sites through subtle and clever placing of art.
"By having 80 percent of the pieces that are site specific we really tried to be humble, respect the whole magnificence of this cultural heritage and through contemporary art make small interventions, small enlightenments of bits and pieces of these palaces to show, to help people discover or rediscover this cultural heritage."
This event, which takes place once every two years, brings artists from around the world to the city.
The ambition of the biennale has grown over the years. This year the festival encompasses art, video, performance and film. It includes 35 commissioned works, 450 contributors, 41 official artists, 10 parallel projects which are put on by outside arts organisations, plus 38 partner projects which are linked to organisations already active in the city.
The Jmaa el Fnaa is the central square where local people and visitors alike gather.
At its heart is the historic Bank Al Maghrib, once a pillar of the central bank of the Kingdom of Morocco. The structure is currently empty - save for the Biennale's use for display purposes.
And greeting visitors as they enter is a spectacular Formula One Engine made of more than 55 different materials and constructed by a similar number of craftsmen .
Artist, Eric van Hove says that the piece symbolises an imagined society that works perfectly with all the component parts acting in harmony with one another.
"It's very good metaphor somehow from the micro to the macro of every system there is - including society. So if you want, this piece is in a way a monument to a wishful utopia. The system would perfectly assemble each other you know. Because Morocco somehow from the craftsmen perspective seems completely, like, all over the place, nothing runs, things seem to crumble all over. Suddenly here everything seems to fit perfectly; all of their heritage plugged to the millimetre in someone else's heritage, so on and so on. So it's like the Moroccan society resume to this engine as perfect system ready to function."
For all those critics who say modern art is rubbish, this group young of artists is out to highlight the city's environmental policies.
L'Blassa has used rubbish to highlight the huge amount of trash generated by Marrakesh in particular.
They have decorated a series of rooms with garbage that they have collected from nearby areas.
At night the Jamaa el Fnaa is packed with crowds seeking evening entertainment. Among them a street artist gives a free lesson in geometry.
The Marrakesh Biennale runs until March 31st, 2014.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
