Morocco
Rabat
2021
10
English
French
In a nutshell
The exhibition Sourtna. Carte Blanche to Yoriyas. Moroccan Photographers of Today and Tomorrow opens Morocco’s first National Museum of Photography, showcasing contemporary Moroccan image-makers. Inaugurated in January 2020 within Rabat’s historic Fort Rottembourg, a landmark built in 1888, this institution makes art accessible to diverse neighborhoods. The project expands cultural access, reflecting Morocco’s commitment to visual self-expression and societal reflection through its artists. Curated by acclaimed photographer Yassine Alaoui Ismaili (Yoriyas), it consciously bridges generations, presenting established and emerging talents. Visitors discover how local photographic voices capture a nation’s evolving identity and foster community connections.
Why should you watch this?
The film Sourtna shows how a new museum and a young curator-photographer can redraw a nation’s visual story, making photographic practice public and collective. Set in Fort Rottembourg and curated by Yoriyas, it stitches together established names and smartphone images, moments of youth, family, and bold questions of identity. Seeing a rooftop portrait side-by-side with a grainy phone frame feels both intimate and political; listening to artists talk about transmission between generations moves from pride to urgency. The film leaves a clear charge: when communities claim their image-making, they reshape history and open space for conversation and belonging.
Curators
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili (Yoriyas)
Bio
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, known as Yoriyas, is a photographer and performance artist based in Casablanca, Morocco. With a passion for mathematics and chess and roots in hip-hop culture, he initially made a name for himself as a professional breakdancer before transitioning to photography in 2015. His photographic work explores how people inhabit and make public urban spaces their own, documenting daily life and change across Morocco and Africa. Yoriyas’s intuitive and colorful observations of urban environments have been featured in publications like the New York Times and National Geographic. His images are noted for their masterful composition, which reflects his interest in mathematics and chess through their balanced yet complex, multi-layered scenes.
Carine Dolek
Bio
Carine Dolek is a curator, strategist and writer focused on emerging photography and visual arts. She co-founded the Fetart collective and helps run the Circulation(s) festival, coordinates residencies (Valimage / Maison ligérienne de l’image) and co-curated projects including Sourtna (Moroccan photographers).
Artist
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili (Yoriyas)
Bio
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, known as Yoriyas, is a photographer and performance artist based in Casablanca, Morocco. With a passion for mathematics and chess and roots in hip-hop culture, he initially made a name for himself as a professional breakdancer before transitioning to photography in 2015. His photographic work explores how people inhabit and make public urban spaces their own, documenting daily life and change across Morocco and Africa. Yoriyas’s intuitive and colorful observations of urban environments have been featured in publications like the New York Times and National Geographic. His images are noted for their masterful composition, which reflects his interest in mathematics and chess through their balanced yet complex, multi-layered scenes.
