«You Are My Mirror» : Amazigh theater and arts unite Morocco and Brussels

Ya Biladi

30-05-2025

The Rif Association for Amazigh Theater in Al Hoceima and Magh Space in Brussels are unveiling the artistic creation You Are My Mirror this Friday in the Moroccan city. The project follows a residency involving five Moroccan and Brussels-based artists from both sides of the Mediterranean. Supported by the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, as well as the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and the Wallonia-Brussels General Delegation in Morocco, the production blends stage performance, poetry, rap, and slam in Amazigh. It will be presented at the Moulay Hassan Cultural Center's theater.
According to the two organizations leading the project, this work is the culmination of efforts that began in 2023, following meetings between local artists and associations in Al Hoceima with author Fatiha Saïdi—a psycho-pedagogue and gender expert—Belgian-Moroccan singer Fatoum from the Rif, and cultural trainer and facilitator Abderrahim Mekkaoui.
The goal was to «offer people living in rural areas the opportunity to engage with a blended culture, with a particular focus on reaching women who face even greater challenges due to the absence or scarcity of cultural venues and limited opportunities to participate in artistic projects or spaces for expression», they told Yabiladi.
Moreover, the project aims to energize joint creation through a «participatory and benevolent» approach. It seeks to strengthen the cultural bridge between artistic operators in Brussels and Al Hoceima, promoting the exchange of best practices.
The initiative also strives to «raise the profile of local artists and break the cultural isolation they still experience despite recent efforts». Another objective was to «blend artistic expressions by allowing artists to 'give voice' to the sound of the adjoun (bendir)», fostering a musical transmission rooted in tradition.
On stage, personal reflections on identity and universality become a collective exploration. «The play also addresses the threats looming over identities—threats that can sometimes be deadly, to paraphrase Amin Maalouf», as the artists invite the audience to witness «their identity writing, starting from a blank page and evolving through multiple artistic mediums».
This creative process has forged strong bonds among the members of an intercultural and intergenerational troupe, notably including Rifian actress Dounia Lahmidi (Noomedia), and Rifian singer and musician Abdelaziz Benhaddou, founders of the Twattun ensemble and pioneers of Amazigh song in the Rif.
The group also features university researcher and poet Saïd Abbouti, rapper and slammer Mathieu D'Angelo (Maky), neutral mask practitioner Chaib Massaoudi, poet and photographer Yasmine Messaoudi, and graffiti artist and rapper Djamel Oulkadi.