From the angle of the possible exhibition that constitutes the 6th edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Art Orienta, takes place in different settings across the city of Oujda (Morocco) during the months of April and May. This Edition is designed as a journey across the capital of the Oriental, it takes the visitor from the modernity of Gallery of Art Moulay El Hassan to the antiquity of Dar Sebti in the old medina. The aim of this mixture of different settings is to give the visitors a new possible perspective of the city.

The 6th Edition of Orienta brings together 35 artists coming from different countries around the world to enrich the exhibition with 50 artworks. The included works vary between installations, paintings, photographs and more. The curator of the exhibition Christophe Boulanger, a French artist, with the assistance of Brahim Bachiri, placed the artworks in various settings across the city. In the Art Gallery you have the chance to enjoy Ahmed Aajour’s historical paintings alongside Ahmed Attougui’s. Then you can walk your way to Villa Verte where Charles Boussion painting is exhibited. The journey is completed only when you visit the other settings such as the gallery of Mohamed VI theatre.
In my personal delightful visit to the exhibitions of this edition, I was amazed by Aajour and Mattougui’s works in the Gallery of Art Moulay El Hassan. They made me travel back instantly to history, to the colonial period of morocco in particular. Ahmed Aajour painting entitled Battle of Annual illustrates the historical battle between the Rif region tribes lead by Abd Al-krim Al Khattabi, and the Spanish army. The Spanish side suffered a major military defeat. They refer to the battle as the Disaster of Annual because they lost more than 900 soldiers. Using only his memory and what he heard from old people tales about the case, Ahmed Aajour succeeded, in my opinion, to portray the battle.
In the same vain, Moulay Ahmed Mattougui’s paintings of his home town Nador takes the visitor back to the 50s. The Nador in his paintings is quite different from the one we know. It’s much smaller and through the paintings you sense the tranquility and the beauty of the coastal town. It was a pleasant journey to the history.

To conclude, in my humble opinion, I believe that From the angle of the possible exhibition is an experience that is not easy to forget. The variety of the works and the settings makes it even more astonishing. Thanks to the guided visit by our classmates, I personally had a remarkable experience where I learnt so many interesting things about different forms of art.

Taoufiq El Atmani