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On the façade of La Galerie 38 in Marrakech, a colourful 6m-high wooden installation, The Portal by Ghizlane Agzenaï, leads visitors into the self-taught Moroccan artist’s solo show, ‘Dimension 2112: The Station’ (until 14 March 2026).
The exhibition opened on 5 February as part of Gallery Night, an exploration of selected galleries and art spaces in Marrakech’s Gueliz neighbourhood, an initiative by the organisers of 1-54 Marrakech 2026. ‘I am really happy that we got to do the opening during 1-54, because for me personally, it’s like an annual rendezvous to meet artists, to meet people from the art world that maybe we can’t meet every day in Morocco,’ Agzenaï told Wallpaper* after a tour of the exhibition. ‘It’s a fair that has really grown over the years in a very, very positive way. We wanted to have as many people as possible to experience ‘“Dimension 2112”, so for me and the gallery, it was the perfect moment to do the opening.’ (‘2112’ is a nod to the artist’s birthday, on 21 December.)
Façade of La Galerie 38, displaying Ghizlane Agzenaï's work
Agzenaï’s show was one of several that opened during 1-54 Marrakech 2026, which ran 5-8 February at La Mamounia hotel and was the seventh local edition of the fair, which spotlights artists and art from Africa and its diaspora.
‘I think it’s nice to see the enthusiasm,’ Touria El Glaoui, founding director of 1-54, which also has editions in London and New York, told Wallpaper*. She notes that the number of Moroccans attending the fair is growing, with some travelling from Casablanca, Tangier, and Rabat, which is ‘wonderful’, she says (for future visits, she also gave us an insider's guide to Marrakech).
This year’s 1-54 Marrakech hosted 22 galleries, mainly from around Africa but also the rest of world. Among them were Gallery 1957 (London and Accra), space Un (Tokyo), Ellephant (Montreal), AA Gallery (Casablanca), L’Atelier 21 (Casablanca), Filafriques (Geneva and Abidjan), LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery (Abidjan), The Art Fair (Luanda), and Nil Gallery (Paris). Together, they showed work by around 70 established and emerging artists, spanning photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, tapestries and mixed media.
Showing at 1-54 Marrakech is 'really important', said Canelle Hamon-Gillet, director of La Galerie 38 Marrakech. For this edition, the gallery presented an all-female group show of Moroccan artists, titled ‘Think Out of The Blue’, featuring the work of Ines-Noor Chaqroun, Meriam Benkirane, Yacout Hamdouch, and Nissrine Seffar.
‘I do feel this link between 1-54 Marrakech and the city is getting stronger,’ said El Glaoui, acknowledging the fair’s relationship with galleries, museums, residencies, organisations, foundations, hotels, companies and art spaces based in the city. ‘There’s definitely an understanding of what we are doing for the city, what the city is doing for the fair and how we are collaborating on programmes that make the fair very special.’
Four artists to watch from 1-54 Marrakech 2026
Sara Benabdallah at Nil Gallery
Sara Benabdallah, Anemochory, from Dry Land series, Fujiflex print laminated on aluminium, 2026
Moroccan photographer Sara Benabdallah addresses the tensions between tradition and modernity, the pressures society places on women, and the place of women in contemporary Moroccan society. Drawing on her background as a filmmaker, she stages photographs that depict the effects these expectations have on women.
In Anemochory (2026), from the Dry Land series, a young woman is seen wearing a wedding garment. While it looks beautiful, it also weighs on her, underscoring the themes Benabdallah explores. In addressing them, the artist seeks to encourage women to make their own choices. 'Here we don’t have static women anymore. We don’t have a checklist. We just have women existing and expressing themselves,' said MaLou Ngwe Secke, curator of the booth.
Born in Marrakech, Benabdallah trained in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy in New York and Los Angeles and holds a master’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Geoffrey Phiri at Imvelo Art Studios
Work by Geoffrey Phiri
Lusaka-based multimedia artist Geoffrey Phiri explores social, economic and political issues in his homeland, Zambia, through his work. For 1-54 Marrakech, the gallery presented a solo booth of media works comprising acrylic, charcoal, fabric, and paper on canvas, examining the impact of copper in the Southern African country before and after colonisation. The pieces examine themes such as the economy, labour, and the environment through the eyes of everyday Zambians, explained the booth’s curator, Ng’onga Silupya.
Phiri was born in Livingstone, and has been a practising artist for over three decades. His work has been shown both locally and internationally, and he is credited with playing a leading role in developing the Zambian art scene, having previously served as chairperson of the country’s National Visual Arts Council.
Meriam Benkirane at La Galerie 38
Meriam Benkirane, Convergence Divergence, 2025, oil on canvas
Trained as an interior architect, Meriam Benkirane creates geometric paintings, sculptures and installations using canvas, wood, and metal that explore the link between modernity and humanity. The work of the multidisciplinary Moroccan artist is described as opening spaces for reflection, combining precision with a quiet spiritual presence.
She has had solo exhibitions at La Galerie 38 Casablanca and featured in a group show in Amsterdam, and showed a mural at the Jidar Festival in Rabat in 2023. Her work is among the collections of the Al Maaden Museum of Contemporary African Art in Marrakech and the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat. Benkirane lives and works in Casablanca, where she was born.
Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux at Cécile Fakhoury gallery
Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux was born in Guadeloupe, moved to mainland France, where he was raised, and now lives between Paris and Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. The experience of displacement, moving between Caribbean, African, and European cultures, has encouraged the artist to ask questions about his heritage and identity, which are reflected in his paintings.
Deloumeaux is a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris and the National Supérieur d’Art Plastique. In addition to featuring in solo and group shows in Morocco, his work has been on display around the world, including at Art Basel Miami (2025), Galerie Cécile Fakhoury in Abidjan (2024), Art Basel Paris (2023), and at Galerie Perrotin in Dubai (2023).