The seventh session of the “Marrakesh Gnaoua Show” festival, from May 8 to 10

the morning

April 20, 2024 at 12:45

They added during a press conference that this session, which was launched by the “Gnaoua Performances Festival in Marrakesh” Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, falls within the framework of celebrating the birthday of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan. To provide an outline of this selective event.

Likewise, a range of measures are being taken to ensure the success of this seventh edition of the festival, which places special emphasis on the crucial role of youth and encourages their participation in exploring various aspects of Gnaoua culture and art that is able to maintain its authentic character, organizers said.

They also highlighted the importance of the festival supporting young talents and helping them develop their skills in this artistic field, so that they can assume the duties of a teacher with confidence and determination, with the aim of preserving this important cultural heritage.

They also highlighted the importance of establishing the Gnaoua Arts Academy, to contribute to the formation of young people and the preservation of this authentic musical form.

The program of this edition presents various artistic performances, in which 7 artists will participate, including the veteran Mustafa Bakbo, in addition to Mustafa Sam, Othman Hamiti, Amin Al-Daoudi, Abdel-Kabir Marchan, and Al-Tayeb Al-Dhahibi, who will perform a concert in the heart of the legendary Martyrs Mosque Square. Fna and Place des Ferblantiers.

The “Gnaoua Performances Festival in Marrakesh” Foundation aims to harmonize the Marrakesh Festival dedicated to Gnaoua art with the Essaouira Gnaoua Festival, which embraces an international musical perspective, according to Mohamed Kandiri, President of the Foundation.

He added in a statement to the Maghreb Arab Press Agency, “We hope that the Marrakesh Festival will focus on African music, taking into account the cultural diplomacy that Morocco is spreading towards the African continent,” highlighting the importance of cooperation of all relevant actors in the field of African music. In order to establish an appropriate framework to encourage young people to preserve this intangible heritage and strengthen their position within the Moroccan artistic panorama.

For his part, Othman Hamiti, director and director of the festival, praised the importance of preserving the art of Gnaoua, considering that this symbolic art must reconcile authenticity and modernity in order to transmit it to future generations and provide the opportunity to better raise the level of awareness among the general public. About the importance of this cultural heritage.

In a similar statement, he called for the establishment of an academy specialized in Gnaoua art to train young people, encourage the exchange of experiences with the symbols of this art, and support the festival effectively in achieving the desired goal, in future editions with the participation of about sixty artists.

It should be noted that Gnawa art was inscribed in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.