What happens when two artists become the councillors of a town that was on the verge of obscurity? Something unexpected. Here is a rare story about the rebirth of a forgotten Arab homeland and its transformation into a living testimony to culture, dialogue, reflection, life and freedom.
Asilah is an extraordinary place, where you turn a corner and are constantly surprised as the white walls burst into colourful murals. As Congolese poet Tchicaya U Tam’si wrote, “For Asilah, I feel something more intense than love, I feel passion. I’ll never be too tired to return to the taste of serenity. It’s a taste of patience. One becomes quickly intimate with it, like the heart of the beloved and yet, one is always drawn to seek further proof that one is still and always loved while it is obvious and as clear as Asilah’s white-washed walls. The walls of Asilah are the whispered song of the hands that built them.”
The hands that built the original town of Asilah laboured more than 3,000 years ago. The town was a commercial centre in ancient times, linking East and West, its coastal position north of Tangiers drawing travelling merchants from afar. Its medieval walls look picturesque, but they were built for the serious purpose of defending Asilah against invaders. Pirates and princes have been and gone in Asilah, but by the late 20th century the town was crumbling and neglected.
Why did it not die, like so many other small insignificant places? The rebirth of Asilah came through the vision of two local boys. They grew up and left, travelling all over the world to pursue careers in art and communication. But they never forgot their dream for their hometown. In 1978, the two men – Mohamed Benaissa and Mohamed Melehi – arrived home and set about transforming their crumbling hometown, establishing an annual arts festival called the Moussem.
One of their aims was to rehabilitate Asilah, perched on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, near Tangiers. Young people were leaving, and there was little hope for the future of this 3,600-year-old town. Another was to create a forum for Muslim artists, writers and intellectuals to meet counterparts from the outside world. “This limits their communication through dialogue,” commented the two founders,” and exchange of experiences that should be open, intimate and direct.” Their vision reached far beyond the world of the arts. “There needs to be a common ground for much needed communication... that includes students, teachers, workers, farmers, craftsmen, civil servants and housewives.”
The festival they founded has become an annual event, attracting thousands of visitors to Asilah. The whitewashed walls of the town are transformed, with art works as diverse as the artists who make them. Visitors are not passive on-lookers; they get involved in painting the vivid murals, debating and creating their shape and purpose. The paintings are the visible signs left by the festival, but once a year (usually in August), the streets are full of musicians, actors, photographers, poets and singers.
Participants come from all over the world during the two-month event (July, August). From the start, the festival was envisioned as an international gathering where the ordinary local resident of any background could interact with visiting artists, scholars, and others within the realm of the festival. As many as 200,000 individuals and tourists come from Europe, Asia and the US in addition to nearby Arab countries and Africa. The latest festival, for example, drew musicians from Germany, Austria, Chile, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Senegal, Syria, Czech Republic, Tunisia, Japan and - of course – Morocco itself.
Benaissa was determined that no subject would be taboo at the festival, and called Asilah the ‘Hyde Park of the South’, a place where anyone could speak and create with total freedom. This means that some of the art works do not always please the locals, but the spirit of openness thrives in the many debates and discussions that are an essential part of the Moussam. "We are now entering into a new era, a new world order, if you will, in which the United States is the dominant force and Israel is inescapably part of the equation. There is new technology, the globalisation of communication and economies, a whole new system of values. The Arabs have a very bad image in the United States. Unless we come together and understand one another, we Arabs are in danger of becoming marginalised," he has said – words that have never been truer than today. He does not mind when debate leads to angry exchanges at the festival "The more people talk and get to know one another, the more familiar our cultures become."
Establishing the festival was no easy task for the two Mohameds. They started by getting involved in the town’s local government, and getting onto the Municipal Council. They organised a ‘paint-in’ to improve the town’s appearance, and got everyone from the smallest children to professional artists to help. They appealed to wealthy people who had moved away from the town to help restore the old houses. The Raissouni Palace – owned at the time by the Spanish government, but donated to the town for the project – once the home of a notorious pirate, was turned into a ‘Palace of Culture’ and the Moroccan government helped with the restoration of the town ramparts. Over the years, Asilah has built an open-air theatre and a new harbour. The feeling in the air today is not one of neglect, but of growth and energy.
Local people continue to be involved in all aspects of the festival. School children compete to keep the beach clean. They take part in the painting, performances and debates. Income has increased in the town and there has been an influx of wealthy residents, unpopular with some, but others agree that the town has become more affluent overall.
Apart from wall painting and a lot of world music, the festival is offering other activities and events. Last year, it offered the Moutamid Ibn Abbad summer University, with public discussions on various issues, with Kofi Annan as one of the debaters, and art exhibitions and workshops.
Asilah is just a small town, but the work there has a message for the whole world – a message about peace, the value of debate, understanding, creativity and self-expression. Mohamed Benaissa went on to serve as Morocco’s ambassador to the USA during a six-year stint before becoming Morocco’s Foreign Minister from 1999 until 2007. He works tirelessly to improve Arab-American understanding, and hopes this will become a focus of the Moussem festival in the future.
“What happens when two artists are councillors of a town?” wrote Tchicaya U Tam’si. “It leads to a city where art is the master of destiny and of the street. It also leads to an intense desire to make life a feast to be celebrated at all times and for any conceivable reason.” Where Asilah leads maybe – just maybe – the world can follow.
The often beautiful murals are not white-washed after the artists have left, thus leaving Asilah with a lasting memory and all-year-round tourist attraction that is appreciated by many a visitor.
