The Casablanca International Biennale is an independent curatorial platform that places Moroccan contemporary creation in dialogue with Africa, the Arab world and other scenes across the Global South.
An independent initiative founded in 2012
Created by photographer, artist and publisher Mostapha Romli, the biennale responds to the shortage of public infrastructure dedicated to contemporary art. It extends work developed since 2008 by the IFITRY artist residency near Essaouira around research and transdisciplinary experimentation.
Multiple practices and venues
Painting, photography, video, installation, performance, textiles, sound, writing and participatory projects are presented in cultural and heritage spaces. This distribution across the city moves the exhibition beyond the single model of the museum or commercial gallery.
Casablanca and South-South circulation
The biennale draws on Casablanca's position as an African metropolis open to the Atlantic to explore mobility, urban memory and relations between territories. Successive editions have developed themes connected to margins, images, ecology and narratives of resistance.
A sixth edition exceptionally held in Essaouira
The sixth edition, titled “Making the Impossible”, is announced from 10 December 2026 to 10 January 2027. It is exceptionally scheduled in Essaouira and at the IFITRY residency, without changing the project’s historic connection to Casablanca.