Moroccan embroidery is returning to the heart of Rabat’s cultural heritage. From 8 October 2026, the National Jewellery Museum at the Oudayas will host the exhibition “TARZ, Embroidering in Morocco, Past and Present”.
Created at the Angoulême Museum in 2022, the exhibition continues its journey in Morocco after a stop at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Tourcoing in 2023. It will be on view at the Oudayas until 31 January 2027.
TARZ: Moroccan embroidery between heritage and creation
The exhibition is based on the collections of Moroccan embroidery preserved at the Angoulême Museum. A large part of these works comes from the former collection of Prosper Ricard.
The exhibition trail brings together embroideries from different regions of Morocco, allowing visitors to discover the variety of styles, motifs and techniques developed over time.
Embroidery appears here as an art form in its own right. It also bears witness to social and cultural practices handed down from generation to generation.
Historic collections in dialogue with contemporary creation
One of the particular strengths of TARZ lies in the dialogue it creates between historic pieces and contemporary works.
Textile artist and designer Fatima Lévèque plays a central role in this curatorial approach. She co-curated the exhibition with Rémi Labrusse and Émilie Salaberry-Duhoux.
Her contemporary creations were developed in collaboration with Moroccan workshops. They highlight how traditional techniques can be reinterpreted through a modern artistic lens.
This perspective avoids reducing embroidery to a purely heritage object. It shows how this skill can actively feed contemporary creative practice.
Fatima Lévèque, between art and Moroccan heritage
Born in Morocco in 1960, Fatima Lévèque is a master craftswoman and textile designer.
She heads the contemporary textile design house La Métisse. Her work focuses in particular on Moroccan embroideries, weaving and carpets from the Middle Atlas.
For several years, she has been working closely with women artisans and workshops in Morocco. Her approach seeks to promote textile know-how while giving it a legitimate place in contemporary creation.
She was also co-curator of “TARZ, Embroidering in Morocco, Past and Present” for its first showing in Angoulême in 2022.
An exhibition structured around several regions of Morocco
The works brought together in the exhibition make it possible to explore different Moroccan embroidery traditions.
The collections of the Angoulême Museum include pieces linked in particular to Fez, Meknes, Rabat, Salé, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Azemmour, Tafilalet and the Anti-Atlas.
This diversity underlines how strongly local contexts have shaped the evolution of Moroccan embroidery.
The exhibition catalogue also lists several schools and techniques, describing their history, uses and transformations.
Embroiderers at the heart of the story
TARZ also gives a prominent place to the women who still practise this art.
In its previous showings, the exhibition trail notably highlighted embroiderers and their working conditions. Moroccan workshops contributed to the contemporary creations displayed alongside the historic collections.
This human dimension restores the link between skills and the people who keep them alive. Embroidery is no longer seen only as a technique preserved in museums, but as a living practice carried forward by artisans and designers.
From Angoulême to the Oudayas
After its launch at the Angoulême Museum in 2022, TARZ continued its journey at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Tourcoing in 2023. The exhibition is now returning to Morocco.
Presenting it at the Oudayas adds a new dimension to this stage. The National Jewellery Museum thus hosts an exhibition dedicated to Moroccan textile heritage in one of Rabat’s historic sites.
For Moroccan audiences, this is an opportunity to rediscover pieces from a collection assembled in France, and to see them in dialogue with contemporary creation.
An exhibition to discover until January 2027
“TARZ, Embroidering in Morocco, Past and Present” will be on show at the National Jewellery Museum of the Oudayas from 8 October 2026 to 31 January 2027.
The exhibition offers a journey between history, craftsmanship and contemporary creation.
Through threads, patterns and gestures, it tells part of Morocco’s textile history. Above all, it shows that embroidery can continue to evolve without losing its connection to the skills that shaped it.
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