« We show Morocco through our eyes, as members of this society. »

« انتماءنا للمغرب وكوننا أاعضاء  بفيه نحاول تقديمه برؤيتنا الخاصة »

From June 17 to 30, 2021, the Fondation Maison du Maroc, within the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, is exhibiting the fourteen members of the Noorseen collective.

The exhibition, entitled Nadra نظرة, which means « vision, gaze » in Arabic, thus aims to show a vision of Morocco by Moroccans. It wishes to explore the artistic diversity of the members of the Noorseen collective in connection with their native land, their land of life : Morocco.

14 photographers, 14 perspectives illustrate this diversity of approaches. Noorseen, a collective created in June 2020, is made up of young Moroccan photographers, who grew up in different cities of the country. Their mission is to amplify the voice of young Moroccan artists on the local and international scene. The collective wishes to encourage artistic collaboration between emerging talents, and represent a wide diversity of aesthetics.

The collective is thus not uniform, each one has its own style and uses different mediums : film, digital and even the smartphone. In the exhibition, each artist converses with the next through different common themes, such as human relationships, architecture, family, traditions and modernity, or social issues.

Nadra نظرة wishes to depict Morocco under various aspects : exteriors, nature and landscapes, architectures, countryside and cities, houses, everyday gestures, portraits of Moroccans… They thus create an assembly of singular visions, from which emerges a common vision of Morocco through the eyes and lenses of each.

See you from June 17, 2021 to admire this photographic alliance, the plurality of styles, lights, subjects photographed, and witness a glimpse of the talented and proud of his country artistic Moroccan youth !

The 14 photographers of the Noorseen collective

4 questions to… Nora Moutawahid

Curator of the Nadra نظرة exhibition

How has the idea for this exhibition emerged ?

Nadra نظرة initially represents my graduation project, through which each student has to build a cultural project from scratch. When I had to think about what I wanted to do, the idea of collaborating with Noorseen was really immediate. Being French-Moroccan, these last years have allowed me to question myself more and more about my double nationality, to give it its full place in my identity. I knew the work of some of the members of Noorseen long before the creation of the collective in June 2020 ; seeing their photos on my Instagram feed made me feel closer to Morocco the rest of the year.

Ali El Madani – Look at the Music

When these 14 photographers got together, I immediately loved the project and their values. It was therefore totally obvious for me to propose that they collaborate together for an exhibition in Paris ; I wanted to accompany them and to think together about how to diffuse their talent and their views on Morocco. To be able to put forward these 14 photographers is a real chance.

• How did the location of the exhibition, the Fondation Maison du Maroc in Paris, come about for you and the photographers ?

Several people close to me, including the photographer Hakim Benchekroun and Mina Mostefa, creator of the Rencontres Face à la Mer photo festival in Tangier, advised me to go to the Fondation Maison du Maroc to propose our project. After a first visit of the space with Mehdi Ait El Mallali (one of the photographers of Noorseen), I thought it was the ideal place. Being able to exhibit in a traditional Moroccan architecture makes sense with what we want to put forward, we do not want to denature the space but on the contrary to enhance it. My opinion alone did not count, all decisions were made in consultation with the members of Noorseen and they also loved the place.

In addition, the Maison du Maroc Foundation is located in the Cité Universitaire de Paris, and hosts 300 students (200 Moroccan and 100 European). We are delighted to be able to offer international students an exhibition after more than a year of cultural events being closed.

Hind Moumou – Face à l’Atlantique

• How did you proceed with the selection of the photographs for the exhibition ?

The selection of the photographs was a rather long work, but that being the most important, it is rather normal. As Noorseen is made up of 14 photographers, we wanted to have a coherent selection of works while not distorting the singularity of each member. We first thought together about what we really wanted to put forward : the artistic diversity of Noorseen, the assembly of their views on different Moroccan subjects, and the representation of their land of life, Morocco, as they perceive it.

We all looked at each other’s selections, and Nathalie Locatelli from Galerie 127 brought us her gallerist’s eye on our « semi-final » selection. The choice of photos was really a collaborative work between us, over several months. Afterwards, we grouped the 14 members into pairs, each photographer’s work being able to dialogue with those of another, through different criteria: framing, light, subject photographed, colors, theme put forward, etc. This echoes Noorseen’s first collaborative project, the « photo conversations », in which random duos were formed, each photographer responding to another with their photos.

• What are the current or future projects of the Noorseen collective ?

Noorseen has just completed a project with EA to represent their new edition of the game TheSims4, which allows the creation of Moroccan riads ; members were asked to highlight Moroccan architecture.

As for Nadra نظرة, we hope to do several editions of the exhibition in Paris and Morocco during 2021. Other projects are in the works, including a potential podcast – but more on that soon!

Houssam Eddine – Intermission

 👉 To be informed about the exhibition : @nadra.expo !

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Nadra نظرة
A Morocco by Moroccans
With the collective Noorseen

From June 17 to 30, 2021 at the Fondation Maison du Maroc

1 Boulevard Jourdan, Paris 75014 – Entry door n°7
Access : RER B Cité Universitaire
Tramway T3 stop Cité Universitaire or Stade Charléty
Bus 67, 21, 88 Porte de Gentilly

Monday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm
Free entrance

Anass Ouaziz – Sunflower Seeds

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