Rabat – Starting today until November 30, Essaouira is opening its doors to the third edition of the photography and visual arts festival. The event is inviting participants from abroad and Morocco, and professional, enthusiastic photographers to present their projects in the form of an exhibition.
The festival is co‑organized by the local association, Essaouira Mogador, and the French Institute in Essaouira. The 2025 edition is themed “Parcours” which means “Path” or “Journey,” expressing personal journeys, memories, and stories through photography.
The event aims to create a space for dialogue and exchange expertise with the participants and attendees. Many exhibitions, training, master classes, photowalks, and concerts will be provided throughout the festival.
The French Institute in Essaouira shared that “the festival aims to inspire curiosity about images, awaken perspectives, and create vocations by highlighting the diversity of photographic practices, approaches, and techniques.
“Parcours” is also an invitation to dialogue — between artists and the public, between eras and perspectives, between the personal and the collective,” he added.
After two successful editions in 2023 and 2024, this year’s edition is celebrating the dynamism of Moroccan youth through “Jil Lioum” (“Today’s Generation”), a group exhibition featuring six emerging photographers curated by Yamna Mostefa.
The exhibition will start at Sqala in Medina, opened by the photographer Youness Sefyaoui. Followed by the exhibition “Guardians of Silence” at the French Institute in Essaouira, honoring the journey of two photographers Zak Mtilk and Noureddine El Magouri.
The event will also pay tribute to two young photographers Leila Alaoui and Camille Lepage who passed away tragically at the age of 33 and 26, as well as host a 2025 Maghreb Photograph Award. The competition is gathering local and international candidates, mainly 28 photographers from 16 different nationalities.
