Al Halqa - The Human Treasures of Jemaa El Fna

by Thomas Ladenburger

10 years of Morocco, 10 years of life, 10 years of emotions and encounters, all captured in countless photographs, audio and video recordings. The exhisibition Al Halqa - The Human Treasures of Jemaa El Fna is part of a project which began with a cinema documentary film in 2005 and now conclude with this presentation at Dar Bellarj in Marrakesh. It shows the work of the freelance artist and filmmaker, Thomas Ladenburger.

Dar Bellarj Fondation

The exhibition is a multi-medial reworking of the legendary square in Marrakesh, the Jemaa El Fna. Locals and transients, the curious and the idle gather daily on this centries - old city square, to be amazed and overwhelmed by the performative arts of the "Hlaiqi", the dancers, singers, acrobats and storytellers. In Arabic, the special arrangement of the audience, the circle which the curious form around the center of the performance, is called Halqa. The of Ladenburger's work is on the story-tellers.

On the basis of their knowledge, which has been passed on from one generation to the next for centuries, the UNESCO declared the lively ensemble of Jemaa El Fna square to be Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2001.

Storyteller - Abderrahim Al Azaliah

Virtual Museum of the public square Jemaa El Fna
Marrakech / Morocco

Al Halqa Virtual, the virtual museum of Jemaa El Fna, transforms the performances on the public square in Marrakesh through the medium of film, audio and writing, giving them a more lasting presence and making it possible to experience them in new ways.

This online platform gives the performances - and, in a way, the square itself, accessibility beyond the limitations of time and space. At the same time, the virtual museum evokes memories of a circus tradition that used to have its place in a similarly hetero-geneous form in central Europe too. Information about the various Halqas is available via a browser-based platform. Translated extracts from films and audio files create a kind of virtual tour of the square. Visitors are shown a glimpse behind the scenes of the performative experience to highlight the significance of the intangible arts to the culture of Morocco and of humanity.

Historical Walk around Jemaa El Fna

Featured Videos

Featured Videos contains video portraits of the different Halqa of  Djemaa El Fna in which the protagonists showcase their art and share their own personal stories. Why are they at Djemaa El Fna? What did they experience?  How did they get into their craft?

Biography

Thomas Ladenburger

Thomas Ladenburger was born in 1975 in Ellwangen/Jagst. He began his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, where he studied for almost 2 years with a major in Interdisciplinary Media. Then he returned to Germany and continued his education at the University of Arts Berlin where he graduated as „Meisterschüler“ in 2005. During his masters between 2003 and 2005 he was teaching at the University of Arts. Besides his freelance-work for different TV and cinema productions as camera man and sound engineer, he realized and produced own film works.

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