**Art Explora Festival: When Art Takes Off in Rabat**
From October 11 to 17, the Art Explora Foundation, in partnership with the Louvre Museum and the Pompidou Center in Paris, stopped off in Rabat for a traveling art festival that caught the attention of Moroccan art lovers.
At the heart of this event was a digital version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, exhibited alongside other prestigious works of art during the Art Explora Festival.
Sailing around the Mediterranean, a museum ship of works of art docked at the Bouregreg quay, offering this unique experience to the Moroccan public.
The festival offered exhibitions on various themes related to human interactions with the sea and Mediterranean cultural exchanges. It was expected to attract up to 2,000 visitors per day.
Salma Bensouda, who coordinates the stopovers in Morocco for the Art Explora Foundation, shared her vision on October 12: “The idea of roaming and free access aims to offer culture to as many people as possible. The goal of this type of project is precisely to promote culture, whether local or international, to the public who does not always have access to it.”
The museum boat, measuring 47 meters long, 18 meters wide, with a mast 55 meters high, offered visitors the opportunity to discover the works in groups of 20 to 30 people, with 45 minutes to explore the exhibition.
Among the Rabat residents who boarded the museum boat, Basma shared her impressions: “This type of museum on the water is a refreshing concept. It is also very new here in Morocco. We do not often have the opportunity to see it. It is visually appealing and it gives us a great insight into Mediterranean life.”
The Art Explora Festival initiative was launched in Marseille last June. More than 30 artists participated, bringing a diversity of contemporary artistic expressions on a global scale.
This first festival aims to visit a total of 20 ports spread across 15 Mediterranean countries by 2026, according to the organizers.
By offering an innovative and inclusive approach to art, the Art Explora Festival manages to build bridges between cultures and individuals, thus offering an enriching artistic and cultural experience for all those who are lucky enough to participate. A true exploration of the beauties of the Mediterranean through the eyes of art.