Abdessamad El Montassir

Abdessamad El Montassir’s body of work shapes negotiating spaces calling upon micro-stories made invisible by official discourse, and seeks to explore their place and stake in contemporary societies.

A native from Boujdour in the Sahara in the south of Morocco, Abdessamad El Montassir explores and uses as a starting point for his work the geographical area where he grew up.
His artistic approach unfolds into reflexive processes that invite us to rethink history and cartographies through collective narratives and immaterial archives ; and highlights the necessity to take into consideration the oral forms of knowledge and memories, thusly questioning the traditional construction of History.

Engaged in a social and interdisciplinary practice, El Montassir highlights polymorphic perspectives through testimonies and encounters with historians, scientists, activists and citizens. As not to set a single narrative, his projects urges the necessary and constant emergence of new questions and perspectives.

Biography

Born in 1989, lives and works between Rabat and Boujdour.

Abdessamad El Montassir is currently resident fellow at IMéRA, Institut d’études avancées – Aix Marseille Université.
After graduating from the Institut National des Beaux-Arts in Tetouan, Abdessamad El Montassir completed the MA Artistic and Esthetic Education at the École Normale Supérieure in Meknès, for which he received the award of excellence.

He participated in several national and international exhibitions, including Invisible curated by Alya Sebti for the 13^th Biennale of Contemporary African Art of Dakar and for ifa Berlin, Al Amakine in the contexte of 11^ème Rencontres de Bamako, Saout Africa(s) in the contexte of the documenta 14 at SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, Home in the Mediterranea 18 Young Artists Biennale in Tirana and Durrës, Don’t Agonize, Organize at Poppositions in Bruxelles, Résistance at the Young International Artists Fair (YIA) in Paris, La SERRE at the Cyber Park in conjunction with the 6th Marrakech Biennale, Open Studio – Résistance at Le Cube – independent art room in Rabat, Mastermind #4 at the Venise Cadre gallery in Casablanca.

Abdessamad El Montassir also participated in various artist residencies in Morocco and abroad : Programme Art, Science et Société at IMéRA in Marseille, La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the summer’s lab at Le Cube – independent art room in Rabat, the Résidence Méditerrannée at La Friche La Belle de Mai in Marseille, and a residency at l’Espace 150×190 in Martil.

He also joined the « art, technology and ecology, production and post-production » lab, a project led by L’Appartement 22 in Rabat and in Fès.

Press
“Photographie : Abdessamad El Montassir ressuscite les histoires d’un territoire” by Nicolas Michel in Jeune Afrique