PAVILION OF THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO AT 2026 VENICE ART BIENNALE
For its first national pavilion at the Arsenale, the Kingdom of Morocco presents Asǝṭṭa at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, a monumental installation designed specifically for the Artiglierie by multidisciplinary artist Amina Agueznay. The project explores the transmission of traditional craftsmanship and shared memory through a ‘fully immersive installation that unfolds as a membrane, or second skin,’ as Amina Agueznay tells designboom. Berrada describes the pavilion as ‘a porous, liminal space that enables the circulation of ancestral narratives while posing a broader question: how might we compose together across a plurality of languages and techniques?’ In dialogue with the Biennale’s theme, In Minor Keys, curated by Koyo Kouoh, the project foregrounds what she calls ‘discreet, humble, yet rich and structuring practices’ that shape collective life beyond dominant narratives.
Asǝṭṭa, 2026. Detail. Created by artist Amina Agueznay | image courtesy Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
Asǝṭṭa by artist Amina Agueznay and curator Meriem Berrada
Asǝṭṭa follows a sequence of spatial passages rooted in the notion of the âatba, the threshold as both an architectural and symbolic entity. ‘Threshold, or âatba, is the in-between. More than a cosmological concept, the threshold is how people organize their lives and sustain their practices,’ Moroccan visual artist Amina Agueznay explains to designboom. Trained as an architect in the United States before returning to Morocco to research vernacular practices, Agueznay has long worked at the intersection of spatial thinking and material knowledge, often developing projects through sustained collaborations with artisans.
Within Moroccan contexts, this space mediates between interior and exterior, sacred and profane, private and public. Berrada expands on this spatial condition, noting that ‘it is far more than just a doorway: it is a distinct environment, an area of transition rather than division, an independent architectural and symbolic entity, animated by ancestral rites.’ Inside the Arsenale’s Artiglierie, this idea becomes tangible. The installation operates as what she describes as a ‘transformative threshold (âatba),’ where visitors move through a landscape of transitions rather than fixed zones.
This in-between space also carries a temporal and perceptual dimension. ‘This “in-between” space allows for moments of breath and perspective,’ Berrada continues, drawing parallels to ‘the rhythmic suspensions found in Arabic poetry or the silences that reveal the depth of music.’
Asǝṭṭa, 2026. Detail. Created by artist Amina Agueznay | image courtesy Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
weaving craftsmanship as knowledge, not preservation
Through this presentation, Asǝṭṭa aims to reframe craftsmanship, not only as heritage to be preserved, but as a form of knowledge production. ‘Knowledge production transcends preservation to become innovation,’ Agueznay shares with us. ‘Innovation involves a deep understanding of matter, the experience of matter and gesture.’
Berrada situates this within a broader cultural context. ‘Craftsmanship is, intrinsically, a living matter… yet this “intelligence of the hands” is not always recognized,’ she explains, pointing to persistent hierarchies between art and craft. For the pavilion, this becomes a critical point of departure. ‘When the theme ”In Minor Keys” was announced, we understood it was a perfect opportunity to bring these discreet, humble, yet rich practices to the forefront,’ she says.
The project brings together 166 Moroccan artisans alongside two Venetian collaborators, each contributing as a creator rather than executor. ‘Each artisan has chosen to give a new, deconstructed impetus to their work,’ Berrada notes, emphasizing that the contemporary dimension of Asǝṭṭa emerges from within the practices themselves. This approach reflects Berrada’s ongoing curatorial interest in how art and craftsmanship intersect as forms of contemporary storytelling across African contexts.
Asǝṭṭa, 2026. Detail. Created by artist Amina Agueznay | image courtesy Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
a polyphonic work of many hands
Agueznay frames her role within this process through a musical analogy. ‘I think of my role as that of a conductor, guiding distinct, authentic voices into chorus,’ the multidisciplinary artist tells us. ‘The result is polyphonic.’
For Berrada, whose work at MACAAL has focused on expanding platforms for African artists and practitioners, this collective dimension extends beyond exhibition-making into long-term cultural infrastructure.‘We felt it was important to present a collective dimension that highlights the diversity of voices and gestures composing Morocco,’ the curator comments. The project builds on years of fieldwork and long-standing collaborations. ‘Amina did not meet these artisans specifically for the Biennale… this project is the culmination of years of relationships and a shared human journey,’ she emphasizes, describing the installation as ‘a living archaeology of gestures… a collective means to preserve, highlight, and reactivate exceptional savoir-faire.’ Within this framework, artisans are positioned as central agents in the creation of the work, their contributions shaping both its material and conceptual form.
The presence of women emerges as a defining, though organic, aspect of the project. ‘The vast majority of the artisans involved are women,’ Berrada notes, reflecting the realities of many craft traditions. These practices, often transmitted ‘from mother to daughter,’ embed the installation within networks of care and shared knowledge.
Asǝṭṭa, 2026. Detail. Created by artist Amina Agueznay | image courtesy Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
material as language, gesture as narrative
Throughout the pavilion, gestures such as weaving, braiding, and stitching operate as carriers of meaning. ‘All forms of needlework carry a visual language — pictograms that tell stories,’ Agueznay explains. Yet, she emphasizes, these gestures extend beyond the visual. ‘The rituals that accompany the life of an object are multisensory… like moving through thresholds, feeling the texture and silence of wool.’
Berrada similarly frames material as a linguistic system. ‘Amina treats her materials as a living alphabet,’ she tells designboom, describing how ‘manual techniques act as the phrases of a narrative… forming a poetic language that transcends cultural boundaries.’ Within Asǝṭṭa, these gestures intertwine histories, geographies, and individual experiences, producing a layered and evolving narrative field. The installation resists linear storytelling. Instead, it operates through accumulation and association, inviting visitors to engage with its textures, rhythms, and fragments. Meaning emerges through proximity, through movement, and through attention to detail.
Asǝṭṭa follows a sequence of spatial passages | ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
a pavilion in minor key
In responding to In Minor Keys, Asǝṭṭa adopts a deliberately understated register. ‘“In Minor Keys” is… a manifestation of love and respect for all voices equally,’ Agueznay reflects, connecting the theme to ideas of passage, sound, and shared experience. For her, it recalls ‘the music of the workshop, the echo of community, shared meals and song.’
Berrada expands this reading, noting that ‘the “minor” mode gives a voice to that which rejects exuberance and evades grandiosity.’ Rather than seeking prominence, the pavilion participates in what she frames as ‘a humble joining of voices where each contribution is essential to the harmony of the whole.’
Asǝṭṭa operates as an open structure, ‘a vessel for numerous intersecting stories,’ as Berrada puts it. It spans personal narratives, collective histories, and broader reflections on materiality and authorship. Rather than offering a fixed interpretation, the installation invites visitors to engage, to question, and to navigate its many layers. In this way, Morocco’s inaugural pavilion at the Arsenale proposes an alternative model of exhibition-making, one grounded in relation, transmission, and the persistent power of gestures carried across time.
Asǝṭṭa, 2026. Detail. Created by artist Amina Agueznay | image courtesy Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
Asǝṭṭa, 2026. Detail. Created by artist Amina Agueznay | image courtesy Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication ©️ Ayoub El Bardii
the exhibition aims to reframe craftsmanship | © Meriem Berrada
Amina Agueznay | image © Meriem Berrada
Meriem Berrada & Amina Agueznay | image © Ayoub El Bardii
the project brings together 166 Moroccan artisans | image © Ayoub El Bardii
packaging process documented by Said Yilmaz
project info:
name: Asǝṭṭa
artist: Amina Agueznay | @aminaagueznay
curator: Meriem Berrada
event: Venice Art Biennale 2026 | @labiennale
location: Arsenale, Artiglierie
pavilion: Kingdom of Morocco | @moroccopavilion_venice
commissioner: Mohamed Benyaacoub
organizer: Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco
dates: May 9th – November 22nd, 2026
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