Hassan Darsi’s artistic practice is strongly infused with his experiences, his daily life, and his environment, which manifests in his process, through multiple mediums and often in the form of participatory projects. In 1995 he founded the project La Source du Lion in Casablanca. In 1999 Darsi began developing work on and with gilding, using golden adhesive as his material of choice for covering objects and also public spaces, including, notably, the façade of an art gallery in Casablanca in 2007, the concrete blocks of the pier on the port of Guia de Isora in Tenerife in 2008 and those on the port of Marseille in 2012. The Hermitage Park project, developed in the form of “artistic bridges” from 2002 to 2008, marked the beginning of a series of projects engaged with questions about the city, architecture and public spaces: “Le lion se meurt,” “Le passage de la modernité,” “Le square d’en bas,” “Point zéro,” “Le toit du monde,” “Chantiers en or.” His works have been the subject of several studies and publications throughout the world, and are in numerous public and private collections in Morocco and abroad. Hassan Darsi is a recipient of the Soros Arts Fellowship, a new initiative of the Arts Exchange at the Open Society Foundations. This fellowship is designed to support innovative mid-career artists and cultural producers using art and public space to advance pluralistic, democratic, and just societies. The eight fellows selected have received an award stipend to realize an ambitious socially engaged art project over the 18 months.

Artist

Casablanca, Morocco