A local’s guide to Marrakech by art fair 1-54’s founder

Left: Morocco-41, 2025, by M’hammed Kilito. Right: 08 Mauresque Voile, 2023, by Fatima Mazmouz

(Image credit: Left: Loft Art Gallery. Right: MCC Gallery)

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Where to stay
What to do
Where to eat and drink
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‘Marrakech is a city shaped as much by memory as by movement,’ says Touria El Glaoui, founding director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. It’s a perspective that has come to define her platform: one rooted in heritage yet insistently forward-looking, committed to positioning African contemporary art and its global diaspora within the wider cultural conversation.

Born in Casablanca and raised in Rabat, El Glaoui grew up between two very different worlds: the daughter of painter Hassan El Glaoui and the granddaughter of Thami El Glaoui, the last Pasha of Marrakesh. Time spent at her family’s riad in the Ochre City, surrounded by horses, gardens, colour and light, connected her to Marrakech from a young age.

She launched 1-54 in London in 2013, shortly after leaving her role as head of Cisco Systems’ sales in Africa. The position had taken her frequently across the African continent and the Middle East, sharpening her interest in artistic production across regions. During this period, she also co-curated exhibitions in London and Marrakech, exploring her father’s oeuvre.

Following the success of the London fair, a New York edition followed in 2015. With 1-54’s core mission centred on ensuring African artists are visible within major institutions, collections and critical discourse, a Marrakech edition felt inevitable. It also addressed a deeper ambition: to challenge the cultural disconnect between North Africa and the rest of the continent. Since its inception, the fair has presented more than 600 artists and collaborated with over 250 galleries.

As the fair prepares to open its seventh Marrakech edition, El Glaoui shares her favourite addresses in the city. ‘For those arriving during 1-54, or discovering Marrakech beyond the fair,’ she says, ‘these are places that reflect how the city lives today: between heritage and contemporary culture, social life and ritual.’

What to see and do in Marrakech, Touria El Glaoui’s tips

Where to stay

La Mamounia

‘La Mamounia is inseparable from Marrakech’s cultural rhythm. Beyond its gardens and architecture, it remains a natural meeting point for the city’s creative and social life, especially during 1-54, when conversations unfold as easily over dinner as they do between exhibitions.’

La Mamounia is located at Avenue Bab Jdid, Marrakech 40040, Morocco

What to do

Guéliz

‘Guéliz is where Marrakech feels most urban and immediate. A busy, lived-in neighbourhood, it’s anchored by galleries such as Loft Art Gallery and Le Galerie 38, which together offer a clear reading of the contemporary art scene, confident, international and rooted in the city.’

MACAAL

‘MACAAL anchors Marrakech within a wider continental dialogue. Among other projects, it will present ‘Statues Also Breathe’, a major sculptural installation by Prune Nourry, a powerful collective work developed with Nigerian art students, women potters and the families of the girls from Chibok, celebrating shared memory and resilience.’

MACAAL is located at Al Maaden, Sidi Youssef Ben Ali, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

Le MAP Marrakech – Monde des Arts de la Parure

‘A discreet but essential stop, MAP highlights the artistry of adornment and craftsmanship. The Museum will feature the beautiful exhibition Entre Lieux by Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux, which resonates deeply with the idea of movement, memory and in-between spaces.’

Le MAP Marrakech – Monde des Arts de la Parure is located at 39, 40 Ksibat Nhass, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

Quartier Industriel Sidi Ghanem

‘This is Marrakech in production mode. An industrial area turned creative hub, Sidi Ghanem brings together studios, designers and galleries, such as MCC Gallery. I often stop for coffee at Jajjah by Hassan Hajjaj, before browsing Topolina or spending a design-focused moment at Maison Sarayan.’

Where to eat and drink

Bacha Coffee

‘Set inside a magnificent palace in the Medina, Bacha Coffee is as much about atmosphere as it is about ritual. The experience is immersive and a pause shaped by architecture, ceremony and an exceptional coffee culture.’

Bacha Coffee is located at Dar el Bacha, Rte Sidi Abdelaziz, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

La Grande Table Marocaine, Royal Mansour Marrakech

‘For a refined expression of Moroccan cuisine, this is the address I return to. The experience is precise, a respectful dialogue between tradition, technique and time.’

La Grande Table Marocaine, Royal Mansour Marrakech is located at Rue Abou El Abbas Sebti, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

Sahbi Sahbi

‘Warm, contemporary and deeply rooted, restaurant Sahbi Sahbi reflects a Marrakech that feels generous and confident. It’s the kind of place that quickly becomes habitual rather than a one-off discovery.’

Sahbi Sahbi is located at 37 Bd el Mansour Eddahbi, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

Where to shop

Boutique El Fenn

‘A carefully curated space where design, craft and contemporary sensibility meet. The selection feels personal rather than decorative objects chosen for how they live, not how they perform.’

Boutique El Fenn is located at 2 Rue Fatima Zahra, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

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Sofia de la Cruz is the Travel Editor at Wallpaper*. A self-declared flâneuse, she feels most inspired when taking the role of a cultural observer – chronicling the essence of cities and remote corners through their nuances, rituals, and people. Her work lives at the intersection of art, design, and culture, often shaped by conversations with the photographers who capture these worlds through their lens.