Rabat – Moroccan visual artist Hassan Darsi recently won the Prince Claus Impact Award dedicated to artists whose works empower local communities by addressing pressing political and environmental issues.
Every two years, the Amsterdam-based Prince Claus Fund honors six global artists from a variety of fields from poetry to architecture.
The fund celebrated Darsi alongside other artists on Tuesday this week, describing them in a press statement as “remarkable cultural practitioners who exemplify the transformative power of art.”
The fund lauded the social impact of artistic work by Brazil’s Ailton Krenak, Argentina’s María Medrano, Argentina, Cuba’s Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, Egypt’s May al-Ibrashy, and Senegal’s Alain Gomis.
The six winners were selected from 94 nominations by a jury consisting of two curators — Pablo Leon de la Barra and Maya El Khalil — as well as three Prince Claus laureates: Mariam Kamara (2019), Faustin Linekula (2007), Dinh Q. Le (2010).
Who is Hassan Darsi?
Born in Casablanca, Hassan Darsi is widely known for promoting critical thinking about public spaces and raising awareness of economic inequality in his work. His artistic approach uses video and visual art to reexamine history and the public space, according to the Prince Claus Fund website.
In 1995, Darsi co-founded La Source du Lion, a cultural laboratory that gathers thinkers, artists, journalists, and students to discuss and promote art in Morocco, the website added. The lab produced numerous contemporary art projects.
Among the Moroccan artist’s notable projects is L’Hermitage park project (2002-2008) which represented a plan to create community spaces for storytelling, art, and repose in the abandoned colonial-era L’Hermitage park in Casablanca.
In addition to promoting artistic innovation in Morocco, Darsi has participated in numerous exhibits in art centers, museums, and biennales in Senegal, South Africa, Lebanon, Spain, France, Germany, the United States, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, and Belgium. Some of his work is currently displayed as part of public and private collections in Morocco and abroad.
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