Mohamed El Mennouni Cultural Centre

A central cultural venue in Meknes

Mohamed El Mennouni Cultural Centre is one of the main public arts venues in Meknes. Located in the modern Hamria district, it hosts theatre, cinema, comedy, concerts, exhibitions, literary events, professional meetings and arts workshops throughout the year. The centre serves local artists and associations while also providing a Meknes stage for national touring productions and major regional festivals.

The venue operates within Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication. It is also listed on the ministry’s national platform for booking cultural spaces, confirming its role as a public facility available for artistic and cultural projects.

Named after a major Moroccan historian

The centre is named after Mohamed ben Abdelhadi El Mennouni, born in Meknes in 1915 and one of Morocco’s leading historians and manuscript specialists. Trained at Al Quaraouiyine University, he worked in public libraries and at the Royal Library while producing important research on Moroccan historical sources, manuscripts and intellectual heritage.

His name connects the centre to Meknes’s scholarly history and gives the institution a wider identity linking books, archives, heritage and contemporary creation.

A 500-seat theatre equipped for cinema

The centre’s main auditorium is used for live performance and large public events. In 2024 it was equipped for film screenings through Morocco’s national programme to reopen and create cinema venues. Regional cultural authorities announced a capacity of approximately 500 seats.

The hall can therefore accommodate:

• theatre, dance and comedy;
• concerts and musical productions;
• film screenings and filmmaker discussions;
• festival opening and closing ceremonies;
• conferences, masterclasses and professional meetings.

This versatility makes the centre more than a conventional theatre. It connects live performance, cinema, training and public debate within one cultural institution.

Recognised nationally for cultural programming

In 2016, the Mohamed El Mennouni Cultural Centre was ranked first among Morocco’s cultural centres in a Ministry of Culture award assessing the work carried out during 2015. The selection considered programming, quality of service, cultural outreach and each venue’s contribution to its local arts scene.

The distinction reflects the centre’s regular work as well as its headline festivals: workshops, association-led projects, public discussions and encounters with artists form an important part of its activity.

Theatre, creation and learning

Theatre is central to the venue’s identity. The centre has hosted Morocco’s National Theatre Festival, Ramadan theatre seasons, local festivals and touring productions from across the country. Depending on the season, it also offers theatre workshops for children and adults.

In 2025, the Ministry of Culture selected the centre as the institutional home of Meknes-based Théâtre Chamat under the national theatre-company residency programme. This relationship supports production, dramaturgical research, training and longer-term audience development.

A hall within the centre has carried the name of Hassan El Mniai since 2021, honouring one of Morocco’s most influential theatre scholars and critics and reinforcing the centre’s place in the city’s theatrical memory.

Cinema, television drama and film culture

The venue has a long connection with moving-image culture. It has previously formed part of the Meknes International Animation Film Festival, FICAM, alongside the French Institute and Cinéma Caméra. Its recent cinema equipment gives this role a more permanent technical foundation.

The centre is also a principal venue for the Meknes Television Drama Festival. Competition screenings, tributes, discussions and masterclasses take place across its spaces. In 2026, the festival’s fifteenth edition included Moroccan television films and a screenwriting masterclass.

Film societies use the centre for screenings followed by conversations with directors, creating a space where audiences can engage with the artistic and social questions behind a film rather than simply watch it.

Books, heritage and visual arts

The programme also includes the Regional Book and Publishing Fair, author talks, signing sessions, children’s workshops and discussions with writers and researchers. The foyer and secondary rooms can host visual-art, photography and heritage exhibitions.

These events often combine several forms: an exhibition may be accompanied by a book launch, a seminar, live music or theatre. The centre has hosted historical-photography projects, collective art exhibitions and meetings devoted to stamps, coins and heritage objects.

Popular entertainment and contemporary culture

The venue also welcomes widely attended comedy, musical theatre, Moroccan-language productions and urban-culture events. Performers including Hassan El Fad, Yassar, Eko, Bassou and Amine Radi have appeared on its stage, alongside theatre companies and emerging artists.

This breadth is a defining strength. Scholarship, heritage, auteur theatre, cinema, popular comedy and urban expression can coexist within the same public venue.

Planning a visit

The centre is in Hamria, Meknes’s modern city district. Administrative hours, workshop schedules and event opening times are not necessarily the same, so check the organiser’s announcement, ticket conditions and starting time before travelling.

The publicly listed telephone number is +212 5 35 56 63 80. Institutional booking requests may also be submitted through the Ministry of Culture’s electronic services platform.

Continue with current events in Meknes, Cinéma Caméra, other cultural places in Meknes and the nearby El Hajeb Cultural Centre.