Farid Belkahia

Born Marrakech, Morocco, 1934

Belkahia trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1954–9; the Institute of Theatre, Prague, 1959–62; and the Academia Brera, Milan, 1965–6. In 1962 he was appointed Director at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Casablanca, where he developed his interest in traditional and popular arts and craft practices. In 1966 he abandoned oils on paper to work on copper, then moved to leather and other local materials. His work also comprises limited-edition prints for books of prose and poetry. In 2004 Belkahia was a member of the jury for the UNESCO Visual Arts Award. In 2005 he had a solo exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris. He lives and works in Marrakesh.