On July 6, 2025, the Art Wave Association organized a significant intellectual seminar titled “Global Artistic Visions and Transformations” at the Avant Hotel conference hall in Mohammedia. The event was a part of the accompanying cultural and artistic activities of the Academic Forum for Fine Arts in Casablanca and was attended by a distinguished group of critics, thinkers, and artists from Morocco and other Arab countries.
This seminar embodied the spirit of the forum, which aimed to enrich academic discussions surrounding global artistic transformations and the fundamental changes occurring in the visual arts, both aesthetically and conceptually.
The seminar was skillfully moderated by artist and writer Mustafa Ghazlani, the artistic director of the forum. Among the participants was Dr. Abdullah Sheikh, an academic critic and researcher, who provided an in-depth critical analysis of the transformations in the visual arts in relation to contemporary social and cultural contexts.
Benyounes Amirouch, an artist and critic, discussed the integration of creative work and art criticism, emphasizing the importance of a renewed perspective on art in an era of globalization and postmodernity. Hassan Nrayes, a writer and critic, highlighted the challenges facing contemporary critical discourse and the necessity for analytical engagement with new artistic phenomena.
The seminar provided an opportunity for discussion and exchange of views among participants, addressing various issues related to contemporary artistic transformations, including the emergence of new trends and styles, the evolution of artistic concepts, and their intersection with the digital revolution, as well as the impact of these transformations on the Moroccan and Arab artistic scenes.
All participants agreed on the importance of continued academic and critical research in the arts, advocating for openness to global experiences and keeping pace with the rapid changes taking place in the field.
It is worth noting that this seminar was organized within the framework of the “Art Wave” academic forum for fine arts, which took place in Casablanca with broad participation from artists and critics from Morocco and friendly Arab countries, supported by various institutions and media partners, alongside private sector collaborators. This reflects a commitment to promoting artistic culture and critical thought in academic and community contexts.
This intellectual event arises amidst artistic and cognitive transformations that compel actors in the Moroccan and Arab visual arts fields to engage consciously with global dynamics, particularly those related to changing notions of aesthetics and the expanding boundaries of artistic expression, in light of unprecedented integration between visual arts and technology and the emergence of hybrid forms of creativity that transcend classical boundaries.
Discussions during the seminar highlighted how art has ceased to be merely an aesthetic production detached from the reality of political and social transformations. Now, it serves as a mirror of a turbulent era and a bridge connecting individual self and collective imagination, where environmental issues, identity, freedom, memory, migration, and social justice are central themes in contemporary artistic expression.
In this context, participants emphasized that the Moroccan and Arab artistic scene is currently experiencing a dual labor, aiming for artists to renew forms and styles while engaging with international experiences and simultaneously addressing the urgent need to affirm the specificities of local artistic identity, nourishing it with the diverse heritage and cultural legacy.
Issues related to art education and the roles of academic institutions in nurturing emerging talents and preparing a new generation of artists capable of critically engaging with changes and mastering modern artistic expression tools—including digital media, interactive arts, and public space arts—were also raised during the seminar.
In conclusion, participants expressed the importance of intensifying such intellectual encounters that allow for bridges of communication between artists, critics, researchers, and society. They considered that the real challenge today lies not only in developing artistic production but in rethinking the question of art in light of its global transformations.
The dynamics and transformations currently witnessed in the artistic scene, both in Morocco and the Arab world, invite us to rethink concepts of beauty, identity, and innovation outside traditional frameworks, amid a cultural reality where globalization intertwines with locality, tradition with modernity, and the material with the virtual.
Thus, there is a pressing need to develop artistic visions that respond to this complex interplay and open new horizons for human creativity, making art not just a mirror of the era but an active force in shaping significant cultural and social transformations, requiring critical awareness, openness to experimentation, and courage in questioning aesthetic certainties, aiming for contemporary creativity that transcends borders and redefines the features of art as a space for freedom, dialogue, and cultural challenges.
