Photo: Carlos Perez Marin

Malhoun is a Social-Institutional Artwork or Medium Artwork by Eric Van Hove which doubles down both as a gallery and an academy. It was initiated by the artist’s studio (Fenduq.com) in late 2019.

Following Van Hove’s long pursuit of a Total Artwork (Gesamtkunstwerk), Malhoun aims to rethink the fundaments found between the artwork (as collectible/content) and the art institution (as enabler/container). A TAZ/ARI pluridisciplinary experimental venue expanding on the material and immaterial convergences that were already at play in V12 Laraki & his other large composite sculptures to date, conceptually Malhoun is perceived by the artist as a ‘systemic’ artistic medium in and by itself, that can be shared with other practitioners following a coevolutionary process. Just like Fenduq & the Mahjouba Initiative, with which it ultimately aims to coalesce, Malhoun emerges as a prolongation of Van Hove’s practice: a growing sociosystem that blurs pre-established boundaries and a safe haven for experimentation and playfulness in design, architecture, art, craftmanship and more. There isn’t any long term planning and the program remains very intuitive and highly adaptable.

Malhoun also hosts what the artist refers to as the Yussuf Bin Tashfin Academy: an informal post-graduate program aimed at tutoring young Moroccan artists towards the realities of the 21st century art market. In the near absence of subsidies in the field locally, the Academy has between 3 to 6 studios, an outdoor cinema and a gallery space. Mid-career creatives sitting on the Advisory Board or passing by for shows and productions are invited to network, nurture and coach these young artists as tutors.

Locally speaking, Malhoun is an artist hang-out functioning like a buffer, between the artists and the gallerists, between the art fair & the souk, between the diaspora and the locals, between creative fields somehow brought to cohabit in the building & themselves. Overall, as a platform centered on knowledge and know-how exchange, following the rhizomatic structure of collective memory and intelligence, Malhoun aims to serve as a catalyst for the meaningful growth of local cultural ecosystems.

Typically, it fosters a yearlong exhibition where affiliates showcase their productions and thoughts by way of a continuum: overlapping organically, items and propositions come and go following the conversations and intuitions of participants, as well as their practical needs. Exhibitions are usually tailed by ‘witnesses’ invited to follow the production process. Broadly speaking, exhibitions tend to be conjointly conceived with witnesses, and commercial in nature, though it can vary. Instead of openings, gatherings and ‘selat al rahim’ are organized from time to time, conveying the public to foster the bonds of kinship within the building.

The Malhoun Office
Samya Abid & Eric Van Hove

175 Rue Mohammed el Beqal, Marrakech, 40000

Opening hours:
Monday to Saterday: by appointment
Sunday: closed

contact@malhoun.ma
+212 6 7132 2771 (Ayoub)

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