Cherifa Mourabiti

Cherifa Mourabiti (b. 2000) is a Moroccan visual artist who was born in Casablanca. She studied at Ecole Supérieure d’Art Visuel (ESAV) in Marrakech, graduating in Graphic Design in 2022.

Alongside her studies, Mourabiti also took a project intern role with the Global Diversity Foundation. After graduating, she returned to Al Maqam, Tahannaout, the artistic space set up by her father, the renowned visual artist Mohammed Mourabiti. This picturesque haven, with its glorious nature, proved to be a key source of inspiration and has significantly informed Mourabiti’s practice as she hones her artistic expression.

Working primarily with paint, but also using mixed media to express her ideas, Mourabiti produces artworks that are dynamic in nature, completed in a vibrant colour palette and varied textures.

Significantly, Mourabiti’s practice involves bringing together elements from both African and Asian cultures, comparing, exploring and contrasting them from a contemporary perspective. Included here are the tools she selects for her work, such as Chinese ink, and a hallmark style of melding motifs and symbols from across the continents.

Japanese cherry blossom, for example, is aligned with the olive groves found in Tahannaout, where the family has such strong roots, set against a backdrop of delicately silhouetted birds in flight, wings outspread. 

Mourabiti’s compositions reveal a fragile play on light, which gives them a nostalgic feel. Audiences also have a sense that Mourabiti is not only celebrating the natural beauty and rich heritage found across both these continents and juxtaposing them in a poetic exchange, but also, intriguingly, weaving them together.

Aptly, Mourabiti’s first exhibition, which took place in December 2024 at Al Maqam, featured a collection of works titled ‘Asia to Africa’. Based in Tahannaout, she regularly showcases her work on social media and other digital platforms, where she is cultivating a substantial following and establishing herself on Morocco’s vibrant art scene.