National Photography Museum (Morocco)

The National Photography Museum (Arabic: المتحف الوطني للفوتوغرافيا‎) is a Moroccan art museum dedicated to photography located in Rabat, Morocco, within the repurposed 19th century Burj Kebir Fortress.[1][2] This museum was initiated by the National Museums Foundation in Morocco and inaugurated January 14, 2020.[1]

National Photography Museum
المتحف الوطني للفوتوغرافيا
The exterior of the former Burj Kebir Fortress repurposed to house the National Photography Museum.
Established14 January 2020 (2020-01-14)
LocationRabat, Morocco
Coordinates34.025130°N 6.850930°W / 34.025130; -6.850930
Typephotography museum

Location
The Burj Kebir Fortress in 1915.

The National Photography Museum is located within the remains of the Burj Kebir Fortress, also known as Fort Rottembourg. The fort was constructed from 1886 to 1900 under the reign of Sultan Hassan I.[2] Rottembourg refers to Walter Rottembourg, the German engineer who oversaw the fort's construction.[2]

Opening
Visitors observe the works from the Moroccan photographer M’hammed Kilito's Portrait of a Generation, on display in the open air in front of the Burj Kebir Fortress.

The National Photography Museum was inaugurated January 14, 2020. Mehdi Qutbi—president of the National Museums Foundation in Morocco, which created the museum—said in a statement to the press: "In this space, Fort Rottembourg, next to a low-income neighborhood, we attempt to deliver a message that says that culture must be accessible to every Moroccan."[3]

He also said that the museum's inauguration was consonant with the directives of King Muhammad VI, namely the democratization of culture.[4]

Sourtna

The Moroccan photographer Yoriyas organized the museum's inaugural exhibition. Sourtna (صورتنا, our image) presented Morocco's photographers "of today and of tomorrow."[1][5] In a statement to the press, Yoriyas said: "I'm convinced that visual development plays a part in the socio-economic development of a country. For me, this here means that Morocco is capable of representing itself in images, that we are capable of producing images, of defending them, of sharing them, of showing them and of seeing them."[6]

This exhibition featured work by Zakaria Ait Wakrim, Abderrahman Amazzal, Hamza Ben Rachad, Walid Bendra, Déborah Benzaquen, Lhoucine Boubelrhiti, Mourad Fedouache, M'hammed Kilito, Ismail Zaidy (L4artiste), Mehdy Mariouch, Amine Oulmakki, Ali ElMadani (Rwinalife), Fatimazohra Serri, Style Beldi, Yassine Toumi, and Yoriyas.[7]

References
  1. "المغرب يتجه لافتتاح سلسلة متاحف جديدة" [Morocco is set to open a new museum chain]. www.alaraby.co.uk (in Arabic). 18 October 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  2. "تاريخ زعير .. البرج الكبير بالرباط معلمة تاريخية وذاكرة مشتركة بين الرباط وزعير – اقتصاد الشمال" [History of Zaire .. The Great Tower in Rabat is a historical landmark and a shared memory between Rabat and Zaire] (in Arabic). 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  3. ""المتحف الوطني للتصوير" يرى النور بالرباط" [The National Museum of Photography sees the light in Rabat]. لكم-lakome2 (in Arabic). 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  4. "المتحف الوطني للتصوير بنية ثقافية جديدة ترى النور بالرباط" [The National Museum of Photography is a new cultural structure that sees the light in Rabat]. www.mapnews.ma (in Arabic). 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  5. "Inauguration le mardi 15 janvier 2020 du Musée National de la Photographie à l'enceinte du Fort Rottembourg situé au quartier de l'Océan à Rabat" [Inauguration on Tuesday January 15, 2020 of the National Museum of Photography within the grounds of Fort Rottembourg located in the Ocean district in Rabat]. www.fnm.ma (in French). Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  6. "L'exposition Sourtna صورتنا pour l'inauguration du Musée de la Photographie de Rabat" [The Sourtna صورتنا exhibition for the inauguration of the Museum of Photography in Rabat]. 9 Lives Magazine (in French). 14 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  7. MATIN, Ouafaa Bennani, LE. "Le Matin - Une sélection d'images et d'installations qui donnent vie au Fort Rottembourg". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-19.


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