Morocco Hosts One of Africa’s First Exhibitions of Cuban Art

A display of artwork by Afro-Cuban painter Wifredo Lam at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A display of artwork by Afro-Cuban painter Wifredo Lam at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
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Morocco Hosts One of Africa’s First Exhibitions of Cuban Art

A display of artwork by Afro-Cuban painter Wifredo Lam at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A display of artwork by Afro-Cuban painter Wifredo Lam at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

One of the first exhibitions of Cuban art at an African museum is showing at Morocco's Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

It's part of an effort to give visitors a view beyond the European artists who often remain part of the school curriculum in the country, museum director Abdelaziz El Idrissi said.

“The Moroccan public might know Giacometti, Picasso or impressionists,” El Idrissi said. The museum has shown them all. “We’ve seen them and are looking for other things, too.”

The Cuba show contains 44 pieces by Wifredo Lam — a major showing of the Afro-Cuban painter's work more than a year before New York City’s Museum of Modern Art will honor him with a career retrospective show in 2025.

The Morocco show also marks the first time that the work of another luminary, Jose Angel Toirac, is being displayed outside Cuba. Previously, his paintings depicting the country's late anti-capitalist president Fidel Castro in the iconography of American advertisements and consumer culture were not allowed off the island.

Other works in “Cuban Art: On the other side of the Atlantic” — open until June 16 — show prevalent themes in Cuban art ranging from isolation and economic embargo to heritage and identity.



Riyadh, Seoul Sign MoU on Cultural Exchange

The MoU aims to enhance bilateral relations and achieve mutual benefit in several fields. SPA
The MoU aims to enhance bilateral relations and achieve mutual benefit in several fields. SPA
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Riyadh, Seoul Sign MoU on Cultural Exchange

The MoU aims to enhance bilateral relations and achieve mutual benefit in several fields. SPA
The MoU aims to enhance bilateral relations and achieve mutual benefit in several fields. SPA

Mayor of Riyadh Region Prince Dr. Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon during his visit to South Korea.

The MoU aims to enhance bilateral relations and achieve mutual benefit in several fields including city management and operation, cultural exchange, smart cities, and sustainable urban planning.

The two mayors discussed ways to enhance cooperation between Riyadh and Seoul in the field of urban development.