2024-07-25 10:46:59
Inside, spacious and bright rooms provide a setting conducive to learning and the transmission of ancestral knowledge. Every corner of the academy breathes history and tradition, reminding visitors of the importance of preserving this rich heritage.
Inaugurated on October 31, 2012 by HM King Mohammed VI, the Academy of Traditional Arts (AAT) is one of the main components of the Hassan II Mosque Foundation in Casablanca.
The establishment trains new generations of artisan executives with the qualities required to innovate in the field without harming the deep characteristic traits of Moroccan craftsmanship.
The AAT is committed to ensuring the training of master craftsmen and high-level executives, through the acquisition of professional and practical know-how in the various craft trades, in particular trades linked to the fields of traditional building arts (zellige, plaster and stone cutting), wood, metals, leather and weaving, as well as in the field of calligraphy.
The Academy is also responsible for conducting research in the field of traditional arts with a view to promoting creativity and innovation. In addition to this, it also carries out expert and study work at the request of public or private organizations.
In order to offer refined learning and original knowledge transmission, the AAT has a very high quality teaching staff, which offers students the opportunity to benefit from training combining theory and practice.
The teaching staff is made up of 160 teachers, all recognized in their fields of expertise.
In addition to permanent and part-time research professors, engineers and architects, and artists and creators, the Academy’s students also have the chance to benefit from the knowledge and rich experience of the great master craftsmen who have left their mark on artisanal works throughout the Kingdom, some of whom contributed to the construction of the Hassan II Mosque.
The Academy offers a diversified and comprehensive education. It has nine main courses in addition to calligraphy. Admission is based on a competitive examination open to holders of a scientific or technical baccalaureate and a specialized technician diploma or any equivalent diploma.
The “Traditional Building Art” category has three sectors: Zellige, stone cutting and plaster. The “Metal Art” category has two sectors: ironwork and jewelry. As for the “Leather Art” category, it includes leather goods. The latter is one of the pillars of Moroccan craftsmanship and constitutes a real heritage that requires considerable efforts to preserve it.
For the “Weaving Art” category, we have traditional weaving, an ancestral Moroccan art that uses silk, wool and cotton products. The “Wood Art” category has two sectors: carved wood and painted wood.
The curriculum of these so-called technical courses is spread over 3 years, divided into six semesters. It is characterized by a fair balance between practical and theoretical training. 50% of the hours are devoted to manual learning of trades and 50% to teaching related disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, technical drawing, art drawing, resistance of materials, technology, design, computer science, management, history, art history, archaeology, anthropology, languages, etc.
In addition to the courses mentioned, there is calligraphy. Calligraphy training lasts two years, or 4 semesters. This training is awarded with a “certificate of completion of calligraphy training”, with one of two options: Arabic calligraphy-decorative art or ornament.
The teaching staff of the calligraphy department is composed of Moroccan and foreign calligraphers among the most qualified Arabic calligraphy teachers, university teachers, language teachers and computer scientists.
As for the restoration of heritage, the training, intended only for AAT graduates after passing the entrance exam, is provided over 18 months. It is a long cycle of Post-graduate training and it is work that is done on site.
Unique in its kind, the Academy of Traditional Arts, which places great importance on the learning of traditional arts as well as all the theoretical knowledge related to them, is a jewel and a reference among the institutions for the preservation of heritage in Morocco.
2024-07-25 10:46:59