Photography Museum of Marrakesh
The Photography Museum of Marrakesh is located in the Medina, the oldest part of the city. It opened in April 2009, with a collection of photographs spanning from the 1870s to the 1950s.
History of the location
The Photography Museum opened in a renovated funduq (an inn for merchants and travellers). This cultural venue was established by Patrick Manac’h and Hamid Mergani as a place where old photographs taken in Morocco could be shown to the public.
The collection
The Photography Museum has a collection of over 4,500 old photographs, covering the period 1870-1950. It highlights the origins of photography in Morocco, with works by the early photographers who worked there, including George Washington Wilson, A. Cavilla and Marcelin Flandrin.
The collection includes some unusual aspects of Morocco, through pictures of the archaeological site of Volubilis (photographs by Henri de La Martinière), Moroccan landscapes (photographs by J. Belin for example), and important architectural complexes and casbah. Portraits are given prominence, including those by H. Regnault (1870), Adolf de Meyer (Camera Work), and J. Robichez.
The collection of the Photography Museum represents various historical and cultural aspects of Morocco, such as Berber culture, which is portrayed in photographs and the first documentary filmed in colour by Daniel Chicault in Morocco in 1957 on the Berber tribes of the High Atlas.
The collection also comprises a large series of glass plates (photographic plates) taken by anonymous photographers, travellers on their Grand Tour of Morocco.
Activities
The House of Photography holds exhibitions of photos from its collection on different themes, which change every six months. It is also a research centre offering teachers and students information on the history and heritage of Morocco, as well as an educational tool available to schools.