The 2026 edition of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair Marrakech is smaller than in previous years. The number of galleries has been reduced, the fair occupies a tighter footprint and the broader media conversation has largely shifted further east.
The city itself, however, tells a different story. This year, the boutique fair operated in dialogue with exhibitions spread across the city, keeping visitors constantly engaged—if not by the energy of Marrakech itself, then by a program that extends far beyond the walls of La Mamounia, the state-of-the-art hotel where the fair takes place.
I reported from the fair for Observer.
