Bahia Palace hosts photo festival opening on 7 October
Published on 10/04/2026 at 07:29 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Bahia Palace (Palais de la Bahia) in Marrakesh hosts the opening of the Rencontres de la Photographie de Marrakech on 7 October 2026. The festival runs across Morocco's Red City from 7 to 10 October, with exhibitions continuing until 30 November.
Bahia Palace hosts the festival opening on 7 October
The sixth edition of the Rencontres de la Photographie de Marrakech is themed around two centuries of light and marks the bicentenary of photography. Its programme combines exhibitions, screenings, portfolio readings and professional meetings at several venues in the city.
The festival's official programme places the grand opening night and vernissage at the palace at 6pm on Wednesday 7 October. The opening programme includes Regards croises Chine-Maroc, bringing together Qi Hao and Noureddine El Warari, and an exhibition by Cynthia Cooper titled Silk Road, Road of the Heart. The official opening programme identifies the palace as the venue.
Other parts of the festival take place at Meydene, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, the Museum of Moroccan Culinary Art, the Sofitel and the Mövenpick. The organiser's programme also lists portfolio readings on 8 and 9 October and a closing award evening at Meydene on 9 October.
Two construction phases shape the palace setting
The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication describes the palace as an eight-hectare monument built in two phases during the second half of the nineteenth century. The first house, associated with Si Moussa, was completed in 1866-1867. His son Ba Ahmed expanded the complex between 1894 and 1900.
The site contains courtyards, gardens, salons, outbuildings and annexes. Four main courtyards are decorated with marble, zellij, stained glass, carved and painted wood, moucharabieh and stucco. That sequence of enclosed spaces gives the photography programme a setting that differs from the festival's modern venues in Hivernage and other parts of Marrakesh. The ministry's palace description records the building history and its four courtyards.
China-Morocco exhibition links the programme to the riads
The palace exhibition connects the festival's international focus with one of the complex's historic residential spaces. The China-Morocco presentation brings together two photographers, while Cooper's work follows journeys along the Silk Road from the Black Sea towards Central and South Asia.
The combination is specific to the opening at this monument: visitors encounter contemporary photography inside a palace whose rooms and courtyards were assembled over several decades. The festival therefore adds a temporary visual programme to a site shaped by successive building campaigns rather than a single construction date.
Visiting Bahia Palace: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The festival runs from 7 to 10 October 2026, and the opening vernissage at Bahia Palace is scheduled for 6pm on 7 October 2026.
- The palace is one venue within a multi-site programme; the official schedule names the China-Morocco and Silk Road exhibitions for the palace, while other events take place elsewhere in Marrakesh.
- The monument stands in the Marrakesh medina, on the northern edge of the historic Mellah. The site is in Morocco's main visitor centre and is reached through the medina rather than the modern Hivernage district.
- The palace is a complex of courtyards, gardens, salons and annexes, with decorated surfaces including marble, zellij, carved wood and stucco. Visitors should expect an architectural route through several enclosed spaces.
- Morocco's official languages are Arabic and Amazigh, and the national currency is the Moroccan dirham.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Bahia Palace
When does the photography festival take place at Bahia Palace?
The Rencontres de la Photographie de Marrakech runs from 7 to 10 October 2026, with the palace opening on 7 October 2026.
What is Bahia Palace?
It is an eight-hectare historic palace complex in the Marrakesh medina, built in two phases and expanded between 1894 and 1900.
Where is Bahia Palace and how do you get there?
The palace is in the Marrakesh medina, on the northern edge of the historic Mellah. It is reached through the medina district of Marrakesh.
