La Maison Culturelle du Tapis Opens in Marrakech, A Living Tribute to Moroccan Weaving Heritage
In the heart of Marrakech’s historic Laksour district, a new cultural address has opened its doors with a clear ambition: to restore the Moroccan carpet to its rightful place as a work of art, a bearer of memory, and a powerful cultural language. La Maison Culturelle du Tapis is not a gallery in the conventional sense, but a carefully conceived museum experience housed in a riad built in full respect of authentic Moroccan architecture. Here, the carpet is not a commodity. It is heritage.
Designed as an immersive 45 minute journey, the museum offers a refined and structured scenography that guides visitors across the Kingdom. Each room embodies a distinct region, from the High Atlas and Middle Atlas to Rabat and the Haouz, allowing the diversity of Moroccan weaving traditions to unfold gradually. Every carpet is contextualized through detailed storytelling, highlighting its origin, symbolism, technique, and historical value.
The collection, assembled over more than 50 years, includes exceptional pieces, some dating back to the 1850s. Visitors encounter carpets woven in silk, black wool, and goat hair, rare square formats, kilims enriched with wool, silk, and silver threads, and even works traditionally woven by men. The journey culminates in a Modern Room and a Masterpiece Room, a sanctuary dedicated to museum grade carpets of remarkable rarity. Complementing the carpets are traditional objects such as babouches, cushions, saddle bags, weaving tools, and reference books that deepen the understanding of this ancestral craft.
Behind this project stands Nasser Ksikes, representing the fourth generation of a family of merchants and collectors. For him, La Maison Culturelle du Tapis is both a continuation and a commitment. After studying abroad, he returned to Morocco with the desire to preserve and transmit this heritage, placing particular emphasis on honoring the women behind the looms.
At the core of the museum lies a tribute to Berber women weavers. Their carpets are presented as silent narratives, woven with symbols that speak of identity, beliefs, and daily life. As a Berber proverb reminds us, the carpet is an open book in which women have written the soul of a country with wool and time.
The historical dimension of the experience is reinforced through a projection room screening a rare French documentary from the 1940s. This is complemented by lithographs from the same era by Jean Besancenot, the ethnologist, painter, and photographer behind the seminal work Costumes du Maroc. These visual archives provide essential context, revealing how Berber women were dressed and situated within their cultural environments during that period.
La Maison Culturelle du Tapis is also conceived as a living space. Beyond contemplation, visitors are invited to engage directly with the craft through immersive weaving workshops. Over the course of two hours, participants can create their own mini carpet and leave with a handmade souvenir. A boutique offers a curated selection of Berber inspired objects, including cushions made from fragments of antique carpets, stoneware pieces, and paintings depicting women weavers. The experience concludes on a panoramic terrace overlooking the rooftops of the medina, where guests can enjoy tea, coffee, or fresh juice accompanied by Moroccan pastries.
By blending museography, storytelling, and transmission, La Maison Culturelle du Tapis establishes itself as a meaningful cultural destination in Marrakech. It is a place where craftsmanship, history, and memory converge, offering visitors a deeper understanding of Moroccan identity through one of its most emblematic expressions.
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