“The Sakhra Encounters” is a public art event and exhibition which took place in Moulay Bouchta al Khamar, Morocco, on March 15-17 2019.
Initiated by Abdeljalil Saouli, Gilles Aubry & Carlos Perez Marin, the event explored the concept of human-environmental cohabitation in the rural context of Moulay Bouchta, a village located 60 km north of Fès in Morocco. Hosted by Abdeljalil Saouli, the event gathered artists, researchers, activists, friends, family members and supporters for a shared moment of collective exchange and reflection. It emerged from a collaborative research on local ecologies of building, cultivating and listening, together with Saouli’s desire to reflect on his own experience in daily life and art practice in the country side. During three days, people actively participated in a program of exhibitions, performances, workshops, walks, discussions and convivial meetings. Coming together in this relatively marginalized area of Morocco felt perfect in order to openly address the vexed relationship between art practitioners and institutions in general, along with wider concerns regarding the boundary-making ideologies that govern human as well as non-human lives. The ‘political’, in this case, emerged not only from the ‘personal’, but also from the ‘togetherness’ of the Sakhra Encounters, albeit without a plan.
Guest artists: Said Afifi, Mustapha Akrim, Mohamed Arejdal, Ramia Beladel, Nasrine Kheltent, Younes Rahmoun.
Documentation available here: http://radioappartement22.com/?s=sakhra