I say Tetouan's thriving, but hidden, art scene because art is a seemingly small but very important part of the community here. Tetouan is home to The Tetouan School of Fine Arts, which is run by the Ministry of Culture and has about 40 students total.
The community need is public art, and opportunities to share art. I learned about this community when one of my friends came to live with me for a short period of time in order to reserach the politics of the modern art scene in Morocco. While her research is focused on Rabat, and its contemporary art museum, the only other contemporary art museum in the country is in Tetouan. I was fascinated by what she learned, and found that her work related to many other community issues I have noticed during my time here.
The community has this need because Tetouan is the only city in Morocco where you can get a higher education in the arts, and is producing important work and artists, while trying to be recognized on a national and international level. Tetouan's artists do work related to their communities, creating projects with raw materials based on issues like water shortages and pollution. They are concerned with social and environmental change and Moroccan identity through artwork, but there are limited ways to share their work.
