L’appartement 22

The first encounters that took place at L’appartement 22 were in the summer of 2002, when the place was not yet an art space but my place in Rabat. It was for a practical reason that I invited artists and other intellectuals to discuss diverse issues about the world and the society that surrounds us. We invested our private living space that offers freedom, but this space was overlooking the capital’s main street, so the events were continuously intruding into our discussions. In parallel, I approached the university and other institutions in Morocco in order to create a space for artists and intellectuals of my generation, but when I understood that this kind of investment was not a priority for the establishment, I decided to transform my own place, turning it into a space for research and action. This is how I started to share part of my personal Library and publications. We started by organizing readings, residencies and then exhibitions and seminars.

Selected publications from the collection:

Miniatures, Youssouf Amine Elalamy Editions Hors’Champs, 2004, arabic and french version.

Fifty portraits whose stories intersect and draw a sketch of contemporary Moroccan society. Portraits illustrated collages of the artist.

Sans conte, ni légende, Catherine Poncin, Editions Hors’champs and Filigranes Edition, 2004.

Catherine Poncin shares a photographic quest trough Morocco of memories contained in family albums.

L’oeuvre plus que jamais (symposium) Editions Hors’champs, 2005.

Publication of the symposium held in Casablanca from 27 to 30 April 2005, which brought together artists and professionals to discuss about issues of contemporary art, the collection and new technologies.

L’appartement 22 (2002-2008), Abdellah Karroum, Editions Hors’champs, 2009. 

First historical account of the events that took place in L’appartement 22 since its opening in 2002. This book is designed as an assemblage of archives of L’appartement 22, making the curatorial approach and the issues defining those works and their contexts accessible.

 Artist file by Younès Rahmoun

This artist file includes several films of the artist Wahid and Khamsa, the portfolio of the artist from 2001 to 2012, interviews and curatorial essays about Younès Rahmoun’s works as well as rare and limited editions about specific works of the artist in Marrakech and Venice, curated by Abdellah Karroum.

Rahmoun was born in 1975 in Tétouan (Morocco). He lives and works in Tétouan. He studied at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Tétouan, where he graduated in 1998. His artistic practice is broad. It uses the facility and the design of new technologies and multimedia. This diversity of medium and experiences brings actions in direct contact with nature, for example in specific sites such as the Rif, where the artist is at home. Consequently, with the help of masons in the region, a Ghorfa (small room in Arabic) was built. This action is part of a project on the long-term process that led the artist to build Ghorfa – a replica of his studio in the family home – in many parts of the world. Younès Rahmoun develops a work which combines several influences he draws on every day, his beliefs and experiences. His work is imbued with spirituality and universality.

L’appartement 22 and its library

by Maud Houssais

L’appartement 22 in Rabat provides artist’s profiles and information on professional opportunities (awards, biennials, museums, projects) for researchers, artists and students. Documentation and contacts are available for inspection on site: Adel Abdessemed, Mustapha Akrim, Faouzi Bensaidi, Seamus Farrell, Badr El-Hammami, Mohssin Harraki, Ninar Esber, Mona Hatoum, Otobong Nkanga, Younès Rahmoun, Karim Rafi …

In addition, each month the camera lens will focus on an artist profile from the “00s Generation” from the local and/ or international scene.  The artist’s profiles are part of L’appartement 22’s goal to participate in providing access and sharing knowledge.  The records are also used to archive projects of L’appartement 22 since its inception in 2002 until recent projects such as Residences Rif in 2013. L’appartement 22’s library is thus a place that offers the choice to view and buy books of Editions Hors’champs, but also provides access to videos of artists, portfolios, archives of projects and limited editions.

Abdellah Karroum, curator, publisher and initiator of several independent artistic and curatorial projects such as L’appartement 22 has been appointed Director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar, in June 2013.