Rabat – The second edition of the SHAEIRAT Biennale opened this evening in Rabat with an intimate reception at the British Ambassador’s Residence, marking the beginning of ten days dedicated to poetry, performance, and cross-cultural exchange between Morocco and the United Kingdom.
Supported by the British Council, the biennale returns with a clear and compelling vision: to amplify women’s voices in poetry, champion emerging talent, and create meaningful artistic dialogue across languages and borders.
Taking place across Rabat and Casablanca, this year’s programme brings together poets, writers, and performers in a dynamic celebration of bilingualism and creative collaboration.
Among the evening’s speakers, British Council Morocco Country Director Alexandra Balafrej reaffirmed the organisation’s long-standing commitment to literature and cultural connection.
She emphasized that reading and storytelling remain central to their work in Morocco, highlighting ongoing initiatives that link schools and literary communities between the UK and the Kingdom, as well as their presence at key cultural moments such as the Rabat International Book Fair.
British Ambassador to Morocco Alex Pinfield OBE also underscored the significance of the biennale as a cultural bridge.
He described SHAEIRAT as an opportunity to support young poets while showcasing the richness and depth of UK–Morocco relations through artistic expression, placing particular importance on nurturing the next generation of voices.
The international dimension of the festival is further embodied by British translator and writer Alice Guthrie, known for her work with contemporary Arabic literature.
Participating in this year’s programme, she will present a bilingual reading that moves fluidly between Arabic and English, including a tribute to the late Moroccan writer and thinker Aziz Ben Haddouche, an homage that reflects the biennale’s spirit of exchange across both language and legacy.
Moroccan poet and creative Soukaina Habiballah also brings a deeply personal and imaginative contribution to the opening through her project Back to Cuisine, produced by her platform Lablab.
Reflecting on her relationship with poetry, Habiballah described it as a boundless space, one where limitations dissolve and only possibilities remain.
Her words echo the essence of SHAEIRAT itself: a space where voices meet, worlds intersect, and new forms of expression take shape.
As SHAEIRAT unfolds over the coming days, it promises not only a series of performances and readings, but a living, breathing dialogue, one that places women’s voices at its core while building lasting bridges between cultures, languages, and generations.
