TALIM at the MESA Annual Meeting

If you are attending the 50th annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) in Boston MA this week, be sure to stop by and see us in the booth that the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) has graciously shared with us. We will be there from Friday, November 18 through the … Read more TALIM at the MESA Annual Meeting


Photographs: Tangier Then and Now

Europeans and Moroccans in front of Bab Dar Dbagh, ca. 1920
Europeans and Moroccans in front of Bab Dar Dbagh, ca. 1920

An exhibition in Rotch Library at MIT in Cambridge MA, features prints made from the glass negatives collection of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM) in Morocco. The photographs, which have never been exhibited in the United States, date from roughly 1900 to 1930, a period that saw the city of Tangier undergoing a growth that has been unrivaled until recent decades. Not only is Tangier now seeing a radical transformation due to new construction and infrastructure improvements, but there is also a growing emphasis on historic preservation of the built environment. The exhibition highlights that by juxtaposing the older black and white images against more recent photographs of the places depicted.

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Live Room Halloween at the Legation

We were pleased to host Mok’s Live Room Halloween at the Legation on October 29, and to welcome nearly 300 guests of all ages, along with performers from Tangier and Tetouan for this special (and spooky!) evening. Thanks to the Tangier American Language Center for sponsoring Live Room Halloween and special thanks to Ayoub Lahlouh … Read more Live Room Halloween at the Legation


Dance: Hassan Bouchountouf at the Legation

We were pleased to welcome Hassan Bouchountouf to the Legation on September 6, where his performance opened the 3-day Haraka Dance Festival. Thanks to the brilliant Othman Sellami and his team for conceptualizing and organizing Tangier’s first contemporary dance festival and to Ayoub Lahlouh for this short film featuring highlights of Hassan’s exciting performance. –September … Read more Dance: Hassan Bouchountouf at the Legation


Youmein Creative Media Festival: 48 Hours in July

July 16-17, 2016

We were thrilled to co-host the second edition of the Youmein Creative Media Festival this past weekend, from July 16-17. The Youmein Festival brought together artists and creative thinkers from across Morocco, France, the United States, Belgium, and Palestine to discuss and produce art centering around the topic of “crisis” or “أزمة”. Artists were challenged to create pieces reflecting on “crisis” within the 48-hour timespan of the Festival.

On Saturday members of Youmein, TALIM, and the public convened for a roundtable discussion featuring Driss Ksikes, a Moroccan journalist and playwright, and Hicham Bouzid, co-director of Arty Farty’s Think Tanger project.

(l-r) Hicham Bouzid, Driss Ksikes, George Bajalia. All photos by Omar Chennai
(l-r) Hicham Bouzid, Driss Ksikes, George Bajalia. All photos by Omar Chennai

The presenters initiated the discussion with their own ideas and perspectives, and the audience participated with discussion and questions. The interactive panel discussion took place in a multitude of languages, Darija, French and English, reflecting the diversity of knowledge and experiences of the participants.

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Eid Greetings from TALIM

A guest post from the President of the TALIM Board, Dr. Dale F. Eickelman, speaking on behalf of TALIM Board and Fellows: Dear Friends of TALIM, I take this occasion to wish all of you the very best for the end of Ramadan and ‘Id al-Fitr. We have much for which to be grateful and … Read more Eid Greetings from TALIM


Lesson Plans and Forms

Attention Moroccan Teachers of English!

Site menu with lesson plans open
Site menu with lesson plans open

We’re thrilled to announce that we have now published lesson plans about the Tangier American Legation. They’re perfect for teachers planning to bring groups of Moroccan students to visit our museum. There are lesson plans for beginning, intermediate and advanced level students. Please take a look, share with your fellow teachers, and send us your feedback.

You can click here to go directly to the lesson plans, of you can find them under Education & Research in the menu above.  There you will also find information about our research library, and the literacy and skills training offered at the Legation. 

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Mediterranean Crossroads: The 2016 AIMS Conference

The 2016 AIMS Conference, titled “Mediterranean Crossroads: Spanish-Maghribi Relations in Past and Present” kicked off on Saturday May 14th at the Grand Hotel Villa de France, with three panels that cast a new light on the history and people of this region.

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Green Journalism Workshop

On May 13 we were pleased to host a “Green Journalism” climate change workshop for journalists from Tangier, Tetouan and Laraiche   The workshop , offered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the U.S. Embassy, was the second of five to be held in Arabic (in Oujda, Tangier, Ouarzazate, Marrakesh and Agadir) and two in … Read more Green Journalism Workshop


Columbia’s Hisham Aidi Returns to Tangier

Our thanks to Columbia University professor and author Hisham Aidi for returning to his home town to participate in this month’s Salon International de Tanger des Livres et des Arts. In his round table on “The Artistic Power of Tangier,” Dr. Aidi deconstructed certain stereotypes of expatriate Tangier writers/artists and pointed out the rich diversity … Read more Columbia’s Hisham Aidi Returns to Tangier