Chapter 9: Narrating Berber Culture in Moroccan Museums

In 2011, in the ville nouvelle of Marrakech, the Fondation Pierre Bergé—Yves Saint Laurent, a private French foundation, opened a museum dedicated to Berber or Amazigh culture.¹ The project was openly supported, even lauded, by the Moroccan monarchy. The opening of a permanent exhibit on the past and present of Berber culture and communities turned out to be well-timed. Earlier in 2011, Moroccan youth had taken to the streets to demand economic and political reform, following the example of other protests in the Middle East and North Africa. This so-called “Arab Spring” was, however, reshaped as a “Berber Spring” by some demonstrators in Moroccan cities large and small.