Internationally-renowned Moroccan writer and painter, he strongly defends African artistic creation at the Marrakech African Book Festival (FLAM), which held its first edition from February 9 to 12.
By Mérieme Alaoui
He needs no introduction. A famous Moroccan writer and painter, his books have been translated into a dozen languages and his paintings are in the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was only a few months ago that he had the simple idea of creating a South-South book festival to highlight the work of African writers on both sides of the Sahara. « We realized that we didn’t know each other. We African writers need to present our work in Africa first and believe in our potential. Why can’t an African writer stand out without going to Paris? The president of the festival wonders.
He himself arrived in the French capital in 1980 to study mathematics at the University of Jussieu. He became a teacher in a crammer school. Although he had always been attracted to art, it was not until ten years later that he finally answered the call of artistic creation. In 1992, he moved to New York, where his career took an important turn.
« We realized that we did not know each other… We African writers need to present our work in Africa first and believe in our potential”
He returned to Paris in 1999, but left France soon after. « When Jean-Marie Le Pen was in the second round of the 2002 presidential election, I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand it, I felt betrayed and I decided to return to Marrakech, where I was born, » he explains. A « whim » that turned out to be « the best decision of my life », he says.
A lover of Paris, he settled permanently in Morocco and decided to develop his South-South relations. With his friend, the Franco-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouche, he created the cultural centers of the Ali Zaoua Foundation, of which he is co-president. A way of opening up culture to the kingdom’s underserved children. « I was born into a poor family. My parents separated when I was three years old. My mother raised seven children on her small secretary’s salary, » Mahi Binebine recalls.
Giving these young people the opportunity to discover culture is « extraordinary! « After ten years of running these centers on a shoestring, we received a 30% subsidy from the INDH (National Initiative for Human Development) for each of the five centers, » says the writer. It is in the Marrakech center, « Les Etoiles de Jemaa El-Fna », that the renowned artists invited to FLAM have gathered.
« The potential of African art is exceptional, there are unique art fairs like Touria El Glaoui 1-54”
Initiated by the association « We Art Africa/NS » and supported by many national and international partners under the theme « L’Afrique en toutes lettres » (Africa in Full), this festival was initially « a bit of a kamikaze adventure ». We invited about forty writers from all over the world who were part of our networks. And not least: Achille Mbembe, Jean Marie Le Clézio, Lilian Thuram, Jennifer Richard, Ken Bugul, Makenzy Orcel, Fouad Laroui, Rodney Saint-Eloi, Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Sami Tchak, Fawzia Zouari, Véronique Tadjo or Mohamed Bennis? And Arabic, French and English-speaking writers from all over Africa.
« The potential of African art is exceptional, there are unique art fairs like Touria El Glaoui 1-54 (the most important international art fair dedicated to contemporary African art, with editions in London, New York, Marrakech and Paris since 2013) or that of the Mamounia, » Mahi Binebine further says. After banks and insurance companies, Morocco wants to take the lead in the continent’s art organization. It wants to become a nerve center for African creativity and encounters. Wasn’t the first edition of FLAM announced as one that would « devote a special place to reactivating and consolidating the memories and indelible links that unite all Africans, wherever they are »? A successful event that should find an ever-growing audience.
