We visited the Museum of Berber Culture in Agadir today, which feels more like an intimate contemporary art gallery. The museum mainly focuses on painting, juxtaposing the perspective of Orientalists with the experience of the new school that emerged after 1956, when Morocco regained independence (Casablanca School of Painting) and self-taught artists.
Moroccan artists reinterpret the colonial experience and place a strong emphasis on sociology, seeking an identity profoundly transformed after years of colonization. Orientalists primarily painted exotic landscapes and Berber women in traditional attire. The new school, however, moves away from realistic depictions of bodies and representations, focusing instead on the social evolution of traditional ornaments. It replaces realism and mimicry with expression, geometry, and symbolism.
Apart from the museum staff, we were the only visitors there—the rest of the all-inclusive crew was busy practicing their "lounging skills" 😃 I'll be joining them later today 😃
