Tangier’s sixth annual art night, “Being Here,” staged across Liberty Street and reopened an abandoned hotel for art

# What happened

# Venues and a reopened landmark A standout location was the Liberty Hotel, built in the early 20th century and closed since the 1940s. For the night the abandoned hotel hosted artists who used its architecture and history as raw material. Other stops included Borj Kathrine, a local historical landmark where site-specific installations were on view.

# Artists and approaches

• Ignacio G. Bolivar, a Spanish photographer, contributed photographic work informed by travels in rural areas. His images were presented within the circuit to extend the sense of place beyond the city's built environment.

• Maxime Gralet showed colourful clay jars at Borj Kathrine. Each jar carried unique cracks, blemishes or delicate markings. He described the jars as an invitation to reconnect with inner and outer life and with notions of sharing, exchange and fragility.

# Themes and visitor experience The program intentionally connected artworks to Tangier's physical and cultural landscape. Several projects used local histories, abandoned architecture and traditional decorative languages as starting points. As visitors moved through the circuit, the sequence of sites and works offered a layered way to learn about the city: through stories reimagined, photographic encounters with rural scenes, sculptural objects that reference both domestic craft and fragility.

# Scale and continuity The "Being Here" edition is part of a recurring, expanding program. Over the past few years the arts night has activated roughly 30 locations and has hosted around 250 artists. That cumulative scale shows the event relies on multiple sites and a broad network of contributors to construct an art trail that changes how people encounter Tangier.

# What this means for visitors For those attending, the route works as a guided roam: short performances, installations and exhibitions at clustered venues encourage walking, comparison and informal encounters. Using an old hotel and historic sites helps the event reframe familiar places and bring attention to buildings and stories that are usually off the standard tourist track.

# Practical takeaway If you want an on-the-ground introduction to contemporary artistic practice in Tangier, follow the circuit model: move between a few concentrated venues, allow time for site-responsive pieces, and treat the program as an integrated walk that interprets the city through art.