The project DERDEK

Derdek or a collective leap towards performance.
Derdek is a platform dedicated to performance art in Morocco.
Derdek was born out of the need detected among Moroccan artists to take time for reflection and collective experimentation around performance art.
Derdek’s objective is not so much to define or limit this practice to a precise framework as to stimulate an individual and collective impetus, in order to encourage artists to take hold of it and accompany them in their personal and singular writing.

Derdek is a platform dedicated to training, research, creation, production and dissemination of performance art in Morocco and internationally. This project seeks to bring together Moroccan artists from different backgrounds and disciplines (visual arts, performing arts, writing) and researchers, curators, cultural actors, structures, Moroccan and foreign art spaces.

Derdek is above all an artistic movement, federative and open, which integrates the public at each stage of its development, and aspires to make this platform a permeable space of reflection that continues to question its identity, its history and its aspirations.

Derdek was born in 2021, from the meeting between Nezha Rhondali (Irtijal company) and Elisabeth Piskernik (Le Cube – independent art room), both convinced of the stakes and the impact conveyed by performance art. They started the project through a performance production programme at Le Cube by the Irtijal Company.

Today, an invitation is extended to all Moroccan and Moroccan resident artists to gather, reflect, experiment and take action.

DERDEK’s anchor is an intensive and professional training that brings together ten Moroccan artists, three international performance artists and a large audience around performance art for one month.

Performance art training

What is it?
An intensive and free training that welcomes ten artists from different disciplines for one month.
A professional training course focusing on both theory and practice.
Four modules dealing with three themes, taught by three different speakers and a final module “Dream Laboratory”.
Each module will take place over five consecutive days, with the fifth and final day dedicated to meeting the public.
Special attention will be paid to the collaborative and inclusive aspect.

Who is it for?
Experienced Moroccan artists or those permanently resident in Morocco, from any artistic discipline, with a sufficient command of the French language. Artists will be selected through a call for participation.

By whom?
Romina de Novellis for the module “Gestures and counter-rituals: performing the rite”.
Loïc Touzé for the module “Being present, being in presence: “The present is memory and anticipation” Henri Bergson”.
Fatima Mazmouz for the module “PER FORME! Performative photography and video, the body in all its states”.
Nezha Rhondali for the general coordination and moderation of the module “Laboratoire Rêve”.

When will it take place?
Derdek will be launched at a public event on 8 September 2023. Modules will be planned until 3 October 2023.

Where?
The training will take place in Rabat. The HQ is at Le Cube – independent art room, and times of work and meetings with the public will take place in other spaces.

How?
Participation in the training is free of charge. Participants will be accommodated in Rabat and will receive a per diem for meals.

Application for training

The call for applications opens on Tuesday 23 May 2023: applications must be submitted before Sunday 18 June 2023. Applications will be examined by the Derdek project steering committee.

Selection will be based on the following criteria:

– Significant artistic and professional experience
– Artistic approach or interest in performance
– Motivation to join the Derdek project, its initiatives and networks

The applicant must send the following documents

– Portfolio and biography (200 words max)
– Motivation letter, in which must appear: artistic disciplines, artistic approach, interest in performance art and motivations for the training and the DERDEK platform.
– A letter of commitment formalising participation in the entire training course (presence in Rabat from 8 September to 4 October 2023).

It should be noted that candidates must have a good understanding of French.

The application form and any questions should be addressed to the project coordinator: rhondalinezha@gmail.com

This project is supported by the Service de Coopération et d’Action Culturelle of the French Embassy in Morocco.

Documentation
Flyer Derdek