On Friday September 8, Morocco experienced its worst earthquake in 60 years. As the country grieves the harrowing loss of over 2,000 lives, the @who estimates that the earthquake has already impacted over 300,000 people - and the number is likely to continue to climb.
"I remember waking up and seeing entire villages flattened to rubble," says Samira Larouci, a founder of new collective @artistsformorocco
"Villages that looked identical to the ones my parents grew up in and many more of my family still live in. The destruction and death were unfathomable. Seeing the old medina in Marrakesh, a vital lifeline for so many people and home to so many craftspeople, destroyed - it broke my heart. Although my family were, thankfully, all safe, one of my former teachers lost 11 of his relatives in one night."
She continues: "Living in London, I felt useless. I figured that waiting around wasn't going to get us anywhere, and it certainly wasn't going to help anyone.
After connecting with photographers @anassouaziz and @ismailelaaddiou they joined forces to found #ArtistsForMorocco, which is comprised of 25 established and emerging Moroccan photographers and artists.
"They mentioned they needed help in pushing their personal prints, so I said let's make this much bigger," Larouci says. "Let's make a collective, comprised of every Moroccan photographer we know. If everyone sells a piece of their work, we could raise a lot of money and give that directly to trusted local NGOs on the ground. So that's what we did. Moroccan artists donating their work for Morocco's relief.
Find out more about Artists For Morocco through the link in our bio 🔗
Write up by @dazed
Photos by @hananelouardani @rwinalife @ridaseyes @hassanbaiiai @artiste @mouslamrabat @fatimazohraserri @imanzaoin @salaheddine.elbouaaichi @hassanhajjaj_larache