Rabat – In May, four Moroccan and Tunisian art enthusiasts came together to create Interval, a non-profit art collective that documents and preserves art, empowering artists from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
“We want to give visibility to the talents in our region. We also want our youth to engage with culture and art in our region,” Interval’s French-Tunisian co-founder Amina Debbiche, 31, told Morocco World News.
“We want to create a new narrative that looks more like us by breaking the cliches of Africanism and Arabness — we should be building bridges between these countries and places rather than grouping them. We want to prevent the overall narrative. We want to listen and create content and spaces for content that the next generation and ones after can access.”
Debbiche, along with her Moroccan partners Oussama Garti, Omar Benmoussa, and Hamza Slaoui, underlined the need for a platform which elevates the work of regional artists and shares knowledge about the artists and their work — without relying on Western narratives of their art.
“We aren’t against the Western narrative about us, but in the contemporary world, we also want to be part of the conversation. We want to create a collective where people feel comfortable to discuss ideas and create.”
Interval’s mission is three-fold: First, to widen access to art and make it more accessible to everyone. The North African team plans to make art and art education more inclusive and comprehensive through their digital platform by curating experiences alongside exhibitions. The second aspect of the collective’s mission to “debate and bring awareness to the most pressing issues in today’s cultural landscape.” Finally, they will promote and support projects with high social impact.
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In just over two months, the organization has already established itself among well-known artists and organizations in the region, namely in Morocco.
As part of its social impact initiatives, the organization has partnered with the Tahar Sebti Institute (ITS), a public-interest association in Casablanca. ITS dates back to 1956. It has a long history of innovative education and training programs that support women, as well as children experiencing vulnerability or with disabilities.
Interval’s partnership with ITS is a pilot project intended to be transferable to other schools throughout Morocco.
The ITS project draws support from Interval’s first up-and-running virtual exhibition called “IM(PULSION).”
IM(PULSION): A virtual exhibition inspiring art education
Featuring 21 Moroccan artists whose passion for their practice was “unconditional,” Interval’s first exhibit features on The Open Crate. IM(PULSION)’s host is a digital platform for art collectors, advisors, cultural institutions, and professionals. IM(PULSION) will be up until September 22.
“IM(PULSION) comes from a strong urge to start a conversation around culture in Africa and the Middle East. We felt the urge to do it,” Debbiche explained.
“We wanted to create an independent action that could bring together artists with a common thread — the fact that their engagement towards their practice is unconditional. When a small seed is planted, you can have the compulsion or the impulsion to do anything.”
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The virtual art exhibit also offers the opportunity for viewers to request a studio visit with artists. This lets them better understand the process of creation and gain insight into the practice and narratives of the featured artists. The studio visits aim to “demystify” the practice of art by offering new ways to communicate passions.
INTERVAL is proud to announce the launch of its very first action « IM(PULSION) » which will go live tomorrow on the 22nd of JULY at 4:00 pm (GMT +1) and will take place on: theopencrate.com @theopencrate This sale brings together 21 Moroccan artists and will support INSTITUTE TAHAR SEBTI (ITS). INSTITUTE TAHAR SEBTI is an association recognized as public interest since 1956. The ITS is an inclusive school, welcoming children in vulnerable and/or disabled situation. Through this project, we hope to support and promote their innovative and alternative educational model, which aims to be implemented in other schools throughout Morocco. A detailed impact assessment will be shared at the end of the action. The 21 Moroccan artists that will be part of the digital sale: YTO BARRADA (@ytobarrada) SAID AFIFI (@said_afifi_studio) OUSSAMA GARTI (@garti.o) MO BAALA (@mobaala) AMINE EL GOTAIBI (@amine.elgotaibi) AMINA AGUEZNAY (@aminaagueznay) ABDELAZIZ ZERROU (@abdelaziz_zerrou) YASMINE HATIMI (@yamsine9) HASSAN DARSI (@hassandarsi) MOHAMED LEKLETI (@mohamedlekleti) YACOUT KABBAJ (@yacoutkabbaj) YOUNES ATBANE (@atbane_youness) MORAN BEN LAHCEN (@morran_studio) SAFAA ERRUAS (@safaaerruas) M’HAMMED KILITO (@mhammed_kilito) HICHAM MATINI (@matinihicham) NAFIE BEN KRICH (@nafiebenkrich) AMINA REZKI (@aminarezki2) MOHAMED THARA (@mohamedtharaofficiel) SIMOHAMMED FETTAKA (@simohammed_fettaka) YOUSSEF OUCHRA (@youssefouchra) Background Image: Said Afifi, Yemaya, 2020, Photographic print (Closeup)The founders highlighted the fact that “every single action will have a specific focus — a country and subject.” Each will emphasize the voices of artists, curators, historians, and collectors, as well as their perception of art in current societies.
M’hammed Kilito, Mohamed Thara, Safaa Erruas, Yacout Kabbaj, Amine El Gotaibi, and Hicham Matini are among the selected artists setting the stage for the Interval’s cultural project.
Interval’s work is timely, as the world begins to recognize the importance of empowering people around the world to insert their own histories, voices, and representations in a narrative long oppressed by colonial powers.
With hopes of their ideas spreading, Dibbiche says, “We hope to give others the impulse to do the same.”
In addition to the art exhibition and educational spaces Interval has created, the organization is facilitating a number of discussions over webinars, radio talks, and social networks.
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