BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

MACAAL

Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden in Marakkech, Morocco

MACAAL (artwork: Fatiha Zemmouri, La pesanteur et la grâce, 2019) © Omar Tajmouati
MACAAL (artwork: Fatiha Zemmouri, La pesanteur et la grâce, 2019) © Omar Tajmouati

Driven by a deep passion for art, Alami Lazraq, founder and CEO of the Group Alliances, began his collection of modern and contemporary art forty years ago. Sharing the same passion as his father, Othman Lazraq has expanded the collection since the creation of Foundation Alliances in 2009 and the opening of MACAAL in 2016. As the Director of Foundation Alliances and President of MACAAL, Othman Lazraq works closely with his teams and external advisors to enrich the collection.

Initially, the collection focused on the works of pioneering Moroccan artists before broadening its scope to include other influences, particularly from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Today, it includes works from nearly three hundred artists. It mainly consists of works by prominent Moroccan artists as well as artists from across the African continent. The collection covers a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, and more recently, photography, installation, and digital arts.

The museum’s collection illustrates the Foundation Alliances’ commitment to providing universally accessible contemporary art, while supporting cultural development in Morocco. It comprises more than 2,000 Moroccan and international works, including pieces by some of the most renowned Moroccan artists such as Farid Belkahia, Ahmed Cherkaoui, Jilali Gharbaoui, Mohamed Melehi, and Chaïbia Talal. It also includes major artists from the African continent like Chéri Samba, Romuald Hazoumè, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Abdoulaye Konaté, Serge Attukwei Clottey, and Billie Zangewa, as well as artists from the Maghreb art scene, such as Meriem Bouderbala, Rafik El Kamel, Adel El Siwi, and Djamel Tatah.

Said Afifi, Géomorphologie d'un exo-paysage, Relevé 6, 2021. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Said Afifi, Géomorphologie d'un exo-paysage, Relevé 6, 2021. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Eric van Hove, Mahjouba 4, 2023. Mixed media. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Eric van Hove, Mahjouba 4, 2023. Mixed media. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Kwame Akoto, Swearing an Oath. Painting on panel. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist.
Kwame Akoto, Swearing an Oath. Painting on panel. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist.
Sammy Baloji, Retour à l’authenticité, vue de la Pagode du Président Mobutu, N’sele, Kinshasa, 2013. Baryte print. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Sammy Baloji, Retour à l’authenticité, vue de la Pagode du Président Mobutu, N’sele, Kinshasa, 2013. Baryte print. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Sammy Baloji, Retour à l’authenticité, vue de la Pagode du Président Mobutu, N’sele, Kinshasa, 2013. Baryte print. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Sammy Baloji, Retour à l’authenticité, vue de la Pagode du Président Mobutu, N’sele, Kinshasa, 2013. Baryte print. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Sammy Baloji, Retour à l’authenticité, vue de la Pagode du Président Mobutu, N’sele, Kinshasa, 2013. Baryte print. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist
Sammy Baloji, Retour à l’authenticité, vue de la Pagode du Président Mobutu, N’sele, Kinshasa, 2013. Baryte print. Courtesy of MACAAL and the artist

Insiders (74)

DANIEL ZAMANI

Artistic Director at Museum Frieder Burda.

Kateřina Havrlant

Collector behind the Havrlant Art Collection

JAEMYUNG NOH

Interview with the Korean collector who has been collecting art since high school.

ISSA MASÉ

Emerging Collectors - The Ori House

Pieter and Carla Schulting

The Schulting Art Collection

KOO HOUSE MUSEUM

Exhibition venue with the theme ‚Living with Art‘

Wilhelmina Jewell Strong - Sparks

Founder of BiTHOUSE Projects - BAAR Art Journey

MATTHIAS ARNDT

Collector behind the ARNDT Collection

Sandra Guimarães

Director of Museum of Contemporary Art Helga de Alvear

Grazyna Kulczyk

Founder of Muzeum Susch

THE FAIREST

Interview with Georgie Pope and Eleonora Sutter, Co-founders

Kamiar Maleki

Director at VOLTA

Gallery Weekend Berlin 2022

Tokini Peterside

Founder and Director, ART X Lagos

Poka-Yio

Founding Director of the Athens Biennale

Boris Ondreička

Artistic Director of viennacontemporary

Maribel Lopez

Director of ARCO

David Gryn

Founder and Director of Daata

Fondation Beyeler Audiovisual Broadcast

Fondation Beyeler and Nordstern Basel present Dixon x Transmoderna

Gary Yeh

Founder of ArtDrunk and Young Collector

WATCH: The Best of the BMW Art Guide

Where will you travel next to explore art?

Maike Cruse

2020 Gallery Weekend Berlin

Touria El Glaoui

Founding Director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

Johann König

Messe in St. Agnes

PArt - Producers Art Platform

A crisis initiative to help artists directly affected by the pandemic

Barbara Moore

CEO of Biennale of Sydney

Unique Collector’s Item

by Independent Collectors

Alix Dana

Fair Director at Independent

When Collectors are Able to Commission

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Juliet Kothe and Julia Rust

Initiators of Collection Night, Berlin

Marie-Anne McQuay

Curator of Wales in Venice, 58th Venice Biennale 2019

Dorothy and Herb Vogel

Two extraordinary art collectors

Heather Hubbs

Director at NADA

Every Art Collection Needs Space

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Collecting Art with François Pinault

Rudolf Stingel at Palazzo Grassi

A Common Ground

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Caroline Vos

Director at Amsterdam Art Weekend

Hidden Collections

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Nicole Berry

Executive Director of The Armory Show

Daniel Hug

Fair Director at Art Cologne

The Role of the Art Fair

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Peter Bläuer

Director at LISTE

A Brush Against Nature

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Ilaria Bonacossa

Director of Artissima

Excessiveness, the Latent Danger of Collecting Art

by Independent Collectors

Jo Stella-Sawicka

Artistic Director at Frieze

Florence Bourgeois

Director at Paris Photo

Where Artists Can Work More Playfully

by Christiane Meixner

Specifically Commissioned

by Silvia Anna Barrilà

Manuela Mozo

Executive Director of UNTITLED, ART Miami and San Francisco

Important Museums and Private Collections

by Christiane Meixner

Susanna Corchia

Director of the Barcelona Gallery Weekend

Emilia van Lynden

Artistic Director at Unseen, Amsterdam

Carlos Urroz

Director at ARCOmadrid

Shoe Smudges Streaked Across the White Walls

by Christiane Meixner

Amanda Coulson

Director at VOLTA Basel

Douwe Cramer

Director at Singapore Contemporary

Art and Architecture – Attractive Allies

by Nicole Büsing and Heiko Klaas

Jo Baring

Curator of Sculpture Series, Masterpiece London

Bidders and Buyers

by Christiane Meixner

Anne Vierstraete

Managing Director at Art Brussels

Nanna Hjortenberg

Director at CHART

The Crucial Role of the New

by Independent Collectors

Makers and Believers

On Art History’s Most Famous Patrons

The Past is Back

And collectors are buying it up

Are Artists the Better Curators?

On the diminishing boundary between professions in the art world

The Digital Museum

On the importance of the museum’s web presence

The Man in the Middle

On the curator’s private and public engagements

A Private Matter?

On the importance of physical space for the value of art

Off the Wall

How museums contribute to the worth of artworks

Where to Go Next?

The fragmentation of Manhattan’s gallery scene

To Buy or Not to Buy

Collectors on their experiences of letting an artwork slip away

How to Pass On a Passion

On long-term challenges for new private museums