MEDI1TV Afrique : #Chronique_culture du 24-05-24 - 24/05/2024
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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00:10 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:13 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:16 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:20 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:23 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:26 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
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00:33 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:36 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
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00:42 Mohamed Hamry, Ahmed Yacoubi, Jean Genet or Brian Gysen.
00:47 Hassan Ouakrim, it is a pleasure and honour to have you here with us.
00:52 Hassan Ouakrim, thank you for accepting our invitation.
00:55 I am delighted to be with you in this afternoon's programme, and thank you very much.
01:01 Hassan Ouakrim, my very first question, as I said, you present your own collection at the Art Gallery.
01:08 What can you tell us about this exhibition?
01:10 This exhibition is a collection of Moroccan artists who are now universally known.
01:17 I have been collecting these paintings for about 40 or 50 years,
01:25 and I would like to exhibit them so that Moroccans can see them.
01:34 And discover them, in fact.
01:37 So there is Brian Gysen, there is Hamry, there is Yacoubi.
01:42 How did you meet these artists?
01:45 Because you have known these artists, right?
01:47 This is also important to say to our viewers.
01:50 All these artists who are exhibited, not only did you acquire their works,
01:55 but you also met them.
01:57 Absolutely, yes.
01:59 Can you tell us about these meetings, Hassan Ouakrim?
02:02 These are absolutely extraordinary meetings,
02:06 especially the one with Yacoubi, whom I met in the 1950s.
02:11 And then we finished working together at the Theatre de la Maman in New York,
02:17 because I was invited there in 1970.
02:21 And there I met Ahmed Yacoubi again.
02:25 And after that I also met Hamry Mohamed,
02:30 who is an extraordinary painter, whose mother is from Jujuka.
02:35 And we spent, me and him, 25 years really meeting the musicians
02:40 and helping them become known all over the world.
02:45 It is thanks to us and Brian Gysen that the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, came
02:51 and recorded the music of Jujuka, which became international.
02:56 And now they are known all over the world.
02:59 Hassan Ouakrim, I would like you to...
03:01 I said it at the beginning, you are an artist, you are a man of theatre,
03:06 you are a dancer, you created one of the first ballets in Morocco,
03:10 and especially in Tangier.
03:12 But I would like you to talk about your relationship with art,
03:14 with artistic creation.
03:17 What can you tell us about this relationship with art?
03:21 My relationship with art...
03:26 I was born for this kind of work,
03:29 because I started when I was young
03:32 at the largest dramatic arts centre created in Tangier
03:35 before independence in the years 1955-1956.
03:40 And I worked with Mrs. Houri Adrienne.
03:43 She did a lot on mime, pantomime, theatre, ballets, dance.
03:49 And then I moved to Jujuka,
03:52 and then I started to travel to France,
03:56 to Vignon, where I did a lot of research and studies.
04:00 And that's how my career started.
04:03 And in the United States, I also started to do theatre.
04:07 I produced a lot of play pieces,
04:09 like the "Mama" experimental theatre,
04:14 which is directed by the founder, Ellen Stewart.
04:17 She created the American avant-garde theatre.
04:22 And the greatest Hollywood actors are now out of "Mama".
04:27 Marlon Brando, De Niro, Al Pacino.
04:32 All the great artists now...
04:35 the "Mama" theatre is here.
04:39 So, Hassan Ouklim, before we continue,
04:41 I would like us to watch together
04:44 this excerpt from a documentary that was made about you.
04:47 Let's watch it together.
05:01 The work I did was to promote the culture of Morocco.
05:06 I was just doing what I love to do.
05:08 It's a mission I have, and I did it.
05:10 And I'm still doing it.
05:15 Hassan Ouklim, when you look at these images,
05:24 what effect does it have on you?
05:26 Because we must also remember that you were born in Tafraout,
05:30 that you grew up in Tangier,
05:32 and that you now live in New York.
05:34 You've been living in New York for over 50 years.
05:37 And you also published a book called
05:39 "Memoirs of a Berber" in the Sleiki editions.
05:44 But first, what effect do these images give you?
05:48 They are the result of my years of work
05:54 and dedication to Moroccan theatre and art in the United States.
05:59 I taught Moroccan dance in the 50 American states.
06:04 And now you can go to Los Angeles, to Chicago,
06:09 and you'll find groups of American shikhats
06:12 that are extraordinarily original and authentic,
06:15 and magnificent troupes of gedras created with Bshara,
06:20 Goulimin, what I call the "Queen of Gedras".
06:24 I brought a lot of American artists
06:27 to study with Bshara before his death a few years ago.
06:32 So, I was saying, you were born in Tafraout,
06:36 you grew up in Tangier, so you left for New York.
06:40 But of course, the Berber culture
06:44 made Morocco shine in New York
06:48 in the 50s and 60s.
06:51 What can you tell us about the work you did
06:54 when you were in New York, and you danced,
06:57 you did plays,
06:59 and you were inspired by your culture in Mazur.
07:03 Absolutely.
07:05 One of the first very important theatrical productions
07:09 called Zain Amour,
07:11 is the equivalent, for example, of Romeo and Juliet,
07:16 but a completely different Moroccan Berber conception.
07:21 I taught all the actors and actresses
07:25 the Ahouache dances,
07:27 all the authentic, original Berber dances.
07:30 We presented them in La Maman's theater.
07:33 That's how our culture took on extraordinary dimensions in the United States.
07:39 I know that you still live in the United States,
07:42 you still have your ties to New York,
07:46 you have your family, you work,
07:48 you have your history in New York.
07:51 So, perhaps, what else do you want to do
07:56 for this Moroccan culture,
07:58 which you still feel the spirit and the courage to do today?
08:02 I'm thinking of doing a festival in Tangier.
08:07 And afterwards, I'll also be working with Michael Cotton,
08:14 a great conductor who worked a lot with Michael Jackson,
08:19 the great American singer who passed away.
08:22 And we're also going to organize a big festival in Tafraout
08:27 to represent our culture and all that.
08:32 And that's in the future.
08:34 Hassan Ouakrim, thank you very much for accepting our invitation.
08:41 And I would like to remind you that you will be exhibiting your art collection at the Dardar Gallery
08:48 starting today.
08:51 And I would like to add a word.
08:53 Today, I invited the original musicians of Jujuka
08:57 to inaugurate this artistic event at Choukri Bintawut Dardar.
09:05 At the Dardar Gallery.
09:06 Yes, it's magnificent.
09:07 Thank you very much.
09:08 Thank you, Hassan Ouakrim.
09:09 And thank you, dear viewers, for your loyalty.
09:12 Stay with us.
09:13 The information continues on our different channels,
09:16 Aramik Media TV, Maghreb Media TV, Afrique Media TV,
09:19 and of course on our digital media, medianews.com.
09:24 Thank you.
09:25 Thank you.
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09:29 Thank you.
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09:31 Thank you.
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09:32 Thank you.
09:33 Thank you.
09:34 Thank you.
09:34 (upbeat music)