Morocco has reached an important milestone in its international cultural presence. For the first time, the Kingdom has an official national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, located in the Arsenale. Artist Amina Agueznay presents Asǝṭṭa, an immersive installation that turns weaving, memory and craft knowledge into a contemporary language.

Open to the public from 9 May to 22 November 2026, the 61st International Art Exhibition brings together artists and national pavilions from around the world under the theme In Minor Keys, conceived by Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh.

Asǝṭṭa: weaving as a metaphor for transmission

The title refers to an Amazigh term associated with ritual weaving. In the installation, thread is not used merely to create a decorative form: it becomes a way of speaking about links between generations, transmitted gestures, family memory and movement between territories.

The pavilion covers approximately 300 square metres. More than 200 naturally spun and dyed wool bands, produced in particular in the Tiflet region, are suspended through the space. Some include tactile elements, beads, animal forms or details inspired by jewellery and textile work.

The work was developed with 166 craftspeople from different regions of Morocco. This collective dimension is central: Amina Agueznay does not present craft as a simple source of inspiration, but as living knowledge carried by people, communities and local economies.

An artist moving between architecture, jewellery and contemporary art

Trained as an architect in the United States, Amina Agueznay later developed a practice spanning jewellery, textiles, installation and fieldwork with craftspeople. She often describes herself as an “artisan-creator”, a phrase that reflects her refusal to oppose contemporary art and craft.

The project is presented with curator Meriem Berrada, artistic director of the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden in Marrakech. Their collaboration gives the pavilion a clear museological structure while preserving the organic, tactile and symbolic character of the work.

Several elements pay tribute to women who shaped the artist’s path, including her mother, painter Malika Agueznay, a figure of Morocco’s post-independence artistic generation.

A strong signal for Moroccan cultural diplomacy

Morocco’s official presence in Venice goes beyond the recognition of one artist. It signals a desire to position Moroccan creation more firmly within the major international circuits of contemporary art.

Choosing a project based on weaving, transmission and cooperation with craftspeople also presents an image of Morocco that is not limited to frozen heritage. The pavilion shows how traditional knowledge can become a resource for creation, innovation and development in the cultural and creative industries.

The approach nevertheless raises essential questions: how are participating craftspeople paid fairly? How are their contributions documented? How can local techniques avoid being reduced to an exportable aesthetic? Agueznay’s project responds through collaboration, recognition and respect for existing working methods.

A Moroccan work with a Mediterranean dimension

Subtle connections link Morocco and Venice throughout the pavilion: lion motifs, beads recalling historic Murano techniques, protective jewellery and surfaces that evoke architectural thresholds. These correspondences tell a Mediterranean story of movement, migration and material exchange.

With Asǝṭṭa, Morocco does not merely seek to display an identity. It proposes a way of thinking about culture as material in motion, continuously woven between heritage and creation.

Practical information

Also on Culturama: Cultural and creative industries: three projects for young talent in Morocco.

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