As the global art world splintered across multiple destinations in early February, Marrakech quietly asserted its relevance. MOHAMED LAKHDAR

The first week of February was an especially busy moment for the art world this year, and one of the questions I found myself answering most often in recent weeks, repeated across vernissages, dinners, previews, emails and DMs, was: “Are you going to Qatar?” To which, “No, I’m going to Marrakech,” was rarely the answer people expected.

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I wasn’t the only one, of course, but in a week that saw major art events in Mexico City and New Delhi, many collectors responded to the magnetizing attraction of Art Basel’s inaugural Doha edition. Collectors, galleries, institutions and even celebrities converged en masse on Qatar’s capital, drawn by the promise of a new center of gravity.

Against this backdrop, hopping onto a plane to Marrakech prompted an unavoidable question: why come here now, when so much of the art world is elsewhere? The question becomes more pointed upon arrival. The 2026 edition of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is smaller than in previous years. The number of galleries has been reduced, the fair occupies a tighter footprint and the broader media conversation has largely shifted further east.

The city itself, however, tells a different story. From the first steps out of Marrakech Menara Airport, it is clear that what’s happening here is entirely different from what’s unfolding in Doha. This year, the boutique fair operated in dialogue with exhibitions spread across the city, keeping visitors constantly engaged—if not by the energy of Marrakech itself, then by a program that extends far beyond the walls of La Mamounia, the state-of-the-art hotel where the fair takes place.

One of the defining features of this year’s fair is the scale of its citywide activation. “We can’t now distinguish the fair from the program in the city,” 1-54’s founding director, Touria El Glaoui, told Observer. “It’s a mixture of commercial and not-for-profit, or profit and institution.”

More than 25 exhibitions and events aligned with the fair, involving institutions such as MACAAL and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, as well as independent spaces, artist studios and private foundations—not bad for a city which the rest of the year is definitely sleepier on the contemporary art front.

In Africa, a distinct identity shaped by context

Founded in London in 2013, 1-54 emerged from a clear premise: to create a platform dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its........

© Observer