Meriem Berrada

Artistic director, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden; head of cultural projects, Fondation Alliances, Casablanca

As head of cultural projects at the Fondation Alliances, which supports cultural development in Morocco, Meriem Berrada played a key role in the opening in 2016 of the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL). She is now the museum’s artistic director and continues in her role at the foundation. As part of the museum’s mission to develop structures for artists in Africa, last year Berrada launched the MACAAL Bootcamp, a training programme for visual arts workers across the continent. Other programmes Berrada has pioneered through the foundation include La Chambre Claire, a competition for emerging African photographers, and Passerelles, which fosters local youth engagement with visual art.

Before joining the Fondation Alliances in 2012, Berrada worked for Marrakech Art Fair and the auction house Compagnie Marocaine des Oeuvres et Objets d’art. She continues to curate, lecture and consult for a range of institutions and clients and is currently organising a group exhibition for the Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration in Paris, set to open in March 2021.

Read Gareth Harris’s interview with Meriem Berrada here. 

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