Casablanca’s old slaughterhouse has become a creative melting pot for Morocco's youth

In the labyrinths of Casablanca, urban landmarks are essential to find one's way around. The old slaughterhouse is one of the most important reference points in the city. It rises in the mythological neighbourhood of Hay Mohammadi, home of great names in Moroccan art, culture and sports. It is the name of a tramway stop close by: the old slaughterhouse station. It is also an important transit hub. Every Casablancan knows it even though many of them, except for the young people, have never been there.
If you go there by tram, you will notice a building with washed out yellow decaying walls. The wasteland surrounding it is arid and anonymous. The sun is strong, the light is blinding. The place is surrounded by small buildings, popular houses and grilled food restaurants; close by there are factories and industrial spaces. The building is quite big but remains hidden behind a few trees, revealing no clues as to what goes on inside.


photo © Sarah Addouh


photo © Ali Elyounoussi


Slaughterhouse: a space for counter-culture
Once we reached the slaughterhouse, the guards wouldn't let us in. A note from the Wali says that we need permission from the authorities. They finally let us in, but it is forbidden to take photos.
As we stepped inside, we were stunned by the monumental scale of this remarkable architecture. The slaughterhouses consist of a series of buildings, courts and alleys spreading over 5 hectares.
We were astonished by the authenticity of these huge spaces infused with memories, with the stables left intact. Art and culture coexist with butchery and slaughtering equipment.
Strolling through the buildings, garishly coloured graffitis spur our senses. Their expression is scathing, lively and suffocating: you can perceive the screams of rebellious youth, craving for freedom and energy. It proliferates on the tiles, the floors, the slaughtering equipment, brashly spilling out of the cracked walls.
Disorientation is total: the place seems unreal, we are transported into a different reality forged by the local artists.


photo © Sarah Addouh


photo © Ali Elyounoussi


They are graffiti artists, acrobats, stuntmen, funambulists... Only spectacular cultural spaces like the slaughterhouse can embrace the dashing and marvellously weird spirit of street and circus artists. The circus artist Saïd Mouhssine with his company Cie-Accroche toi!, the circus group Colokolo and the Théâtre Nomade moved in and became residents of the slaughterhouse. These equally extravagant, extremely creative and talented artists work tirelessly around the clock.
However, if you visit the space today, these artists are absent. Their activities have been interrupted some time ago. The guard accompanying us notes with regret: “The space was permanently lively and active, open year round to everyone. There is nobody left, apart from the Théâtre Nomade.”


History of the space: The old slaughterhouses, first expression of modernity in Casablanca.
The old slaughterhouse represents an important moment in Casablanca's history. In the twenties, during the French Protectorate, the northeastern part of town became an important industrial area, a base for production facilities and industrial units. A mass of workers from the rural areas moved in. This rural exodus provoked an uncontrolled urban growth with informal settlements and the first slums in the country's history. To respond to the growing demands of this thriving population and to respect the health and hygienic concerns, modern slaughterhouses were planned and built on what was at the time the outskirts of town, near the Casa-Voyageurs railway station. It was one of the first major facilities in Casablanca. The spaces were worthy of a modern city (refrigeration space, boiler, sewage treatment plant, etc.)
The slaughterhouse was planned by the architect Georges-Ernest Desmarest and built in 1922. The architectural style of the buildings is Neo-Mauresque with touches of avant-garde design: the Art Déco style yet to rise in 1925. It is a landmark in the Moroccan architectural heritage.


photo © Sarah Addouh


photo © Sarah Addouh


The makeover of the slaughterhouse into a cultural factory: a flagship project for the city.
In 2009, the industrial wasteland was transformed into a cultural factory dedicated to urban artistic creativity in different disciplines: street art, live art, circus arts and so on. Many artist collectives sharing the same values met there to promote art as an instrument of community involvement and democratization of culture. They cooperated in making the space open to everyone.
The Casamémoire Association was appointed manager of the slaughterhouse. They provided studio spaces for artists, spaces for outreach and formation. The activities were accessible for a variety of audiences including those without a creative background, and the local associations were invited to participate in community projects.
Many artist collectives joined the project and settled the slaughterhouse spaces. The resident artists worked together to create and develop a series of events. Festivals, shows, workshops, exhibitions: hundreds of artists have participated and there have been over 400,000 visitors since the opening. Among the activities, L'Boulevard Tremplin, an urban music festival, has proved to be a real talent finder. The concerts were free and bands came from all over Morocco to participate. The slaughterhouse was very busy every day even when there were no programmed activities. Skaters especially enjoyed the open spaces that are rare in the rest of the city. The slaughterhouse cultural factory had become a key centre for Casablanca's youth, an astounding success.


Developing a community through circus and street arts
Street art and circus were highlighted in the slaughterhouse, especially with the circus professionals who worked there. Many of them, like Saïd Mouhssine, graduated from the National Circus School SHEMS'Y. They have a common goal: freely cultivate their passion and share it with the local youth. Their collaboration in the culture factory has generated many projects and festivals.
One of these projects, Parkour Partage (Shared Parkour) was an event based on free-moving that rallied hundreds of participants. The festival was community based and aspired to develop a sense of “living together” by offering adequate spaces for training and artistic research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saïd Mouhssine, founder of Parkour Partage and member of the Cie-Accroche toi! company says: “The objective of Parkour Partage is to offer awareness and coaching in the practice of Parkour for young people. The event generates great enthusiasm, many young people want to join us. Last year, the 4th edition rallied no less that 350 participants.”
Furthermore, Saïd Mouhssine is the author of “Tarft L'Khobz” (Piece of Bread), the first Moroccan contemporary circus creation, a combination of theatre and circus dealing with the history of workers in the Moroccan society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aother event was Ftw'art, created by the group Colokolo with the Wajdine company in partnership with Cie Accroche toi!, an unmissable festival programmed each year during Ramadan and featuring shows and workshops in circus and street arts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The collectives Cie Accroche toi! and Colokolo were based in the slaughterhouse for 5 years. All the other residents were expulsed in July 2016 when Casamémoire's contract with the cultural factory expired.


photo © Ali Elyounoussi


A constantly menaced space is slowly fading away
In July 2016, the Casamémoire Association's mission as manager of the slaughterhouse expired and the City Hall took over. All activities have been suspended and the artists were forced to move out. The only company who managed to stay on is Théâtre Nomade. This is a critical situation for the future of the artists. Saïd Mouhssine: “In our discipline, we must train intensively and regularly and need a lot of space to store our materials. Since we left the slaughterhouse, our activities have been suspended.
A few months ago, we signed a contract with Casapatrimoine, Racines and Cie Accroche toi! in order to continue working while they find a solution for the slaughterhouse space. We are still waiting for an answer”.
Since last year, all activities in the slaughterhouse including touristic visits are banned without previous authorisation from the authorities. A note from the Wali at the entrance forbids to take photos. Not even the artists who worked there are allowed in. The situation that they had created in the space is slowly being wiped out.
We decided to contact Casamémoire to try and understand why they left the slaughterhouse. They said that their contract with the city had expired and that the City Hall was responsible for the place until they find an organisation that can administrate it. They refuse to explain what caused the closure of the contract. After doing some research, we found out that the management of the slaughterhouse was revoked because they did non respect the contract with the city council.
Meanwhile, the Cultural Factory at the Slaughterhouse is permanently menaced. The artists have lost their right to have a space to work in. They moved on to other spaces struggling with great difficulty to progress in their creations and develop new projects. Their hope is to return to their studios in the slaughterhouse and radiate as they did before on the city of Casablanca.


 

 

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