The Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

Morocco had no national museum of modern art until this one opened in 2014, in a new building that borrows Moroccan detail - arches, zellij, carved screens - for an otherwise contemporary plan of top-lit galleries over three floors. The permanent collection traces Moroccan art from the early twentieth century onwards: the self-taught painters of the 1950s, the Casablanca school and its arguments about abstraction and craft, and later photography and installation. The temporary programme is the reason most people come, since the museum has brought in large loan shows from European collections that would not otherwise travel to North Africa. It is air-conditioned, quiet and well hung, which makes it a useful contrast to a week of medinas.

History

The museum opened in 2014 as the first large-scale museum built in Morocco since 1956, with an opening exhibition titled "1914-2014: 100 Years of Creation", and it holds works by 200 Moroccan artists, among them Hassan Hajjaj and Ahmed Yacoubi (Wikipedia, Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art).

Highlights

• The Moroccan collection - twentieth-century painting from the self-taught generation onwards.
• The Casablanca school - work from the movement that reworked craft motifs as abstraction.
• The temporary galleries - large loan exhibitions on the upper floors.
• The building - top-lit halls with zellij, carved screens and a stone facade.

When to go

Year-round, and particularly useful on a hot or wet day. Closed one day a week, usually Tuesday, and hours shorten during Ramadan. Check what the temporary show is before going, since it occupies a large share of the space and the permanent hang is sometimes reduced to make room.

What to expect

The permanent collection is not large and can be seen in under an hour; if the temporary exhibition does not interest you, the ticket is poor value. Labelling is mostly in Arabic and French, with limited English. Photography is often restricted in the loan shows. The building is handsome but the galleries are conventional.

Nearby

The Rabat medina, the Kasbah of the Udayas and the Hassan Tower are all a short walk or taxi away.

Key facts