Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship and overlap between fine arts and traditional crafts in Morocco. The central questions of this study are: how do museums represent, or fail to represent, Moroccan art? What role have traditional crafts, in particular textiles, played in the creation of a modern Moroccan artistic identity, and where do craftspeople see themselves in the canon of Moroccan art? How has colonialism shaped craft, art, and the relationship between them? How do tradition and modernity interact and coexist in art spaces? The study was conducted in Marrakech, Tangiers, and Fes. It consists of a thorough literature review, with special focus on the work of Hamid Irbough; an analysis of art museums visited by the author; a description of several sites that serve as case studies in the creation and sale of Moroccan crafts; and interviews with both fine artists and textile artisans about the research questions. The study concludes that traditional crafts and contemporary arts in Morocco interact and sustain one another, and often overlap in their definitions. It demonstrates the importance of recognizing innovation in traditional crafts, and traditional influences in fine arts. It restates the effects of colonialism and industrialization on Morocco’s artisans, and recognizes the adaptation and evolution their crafts have undergone to survive.
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Junker, Ursula, "Art and Craft: The Interconnectedness of Artisans and Fine Arts in Post-Colonial Morocco" (2025). Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation. 1.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/mor2/1