Medieval Morocco: An Empire from Africa to Spain; Contemporary Morocco

Cultural unity, religious tolerance, and ethnic diversity may seem like lofty goals for an art exhibition, but those are the premises that underlie two blockbuster shows to feature Morocco in Paris: “Medieval Morocco: An Empire from Africa to Spain” (“Le Maroc medieval, un empire de l'Afrique à Espagne”) at the Louvre and “Contemporary Morocco” (“Le Maroc contemporain”) at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA). Both the medieval and contemporary exhibitions share similar messages of Morocco as an open and tolerant society situated at the crossroads between Europe and Africa. “Medieval Morocco” was designed to show the majesty of the country's cultural patrimony, concentrating on the period from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, featuring approximately 300 objects borrowed from mosques, Qur'anic schools, libraries, and museums in Morocco, Spain, Mali, Egypt, and beyond. Morocco's King Mohammed VI, known to be a patron of the arts, made a hefty monetary donation to...