Manuela Amzallag
A Calling in the Medina—Marrakesh
Open Reception July 1, 5-8pm
Shoji Arts
120 N. Aurora #7B (third floor)
Artist Statement
I hope you’ll join me for a photographic exhibit of my work at the Shoji Arts Gallery on July 1, 2022 to travel through the winding streets of Marrakesh. In January 2019, I unexpectedly came upon a listing of a retrospective of my great grandfather’s photographs from the 1950s and displayed at the Museum of Photography in Marrakesh. His passionate mission through photographs, films and recordings was to preserve a slowly vanishing culture in the Jewish Mellahs (Jewish villages) of Morocco. My mission was to respond to his calling and reconnect with my spirit of adventure through his own. I meandered, camera in hand, through the vibrant, fragrant and cacophonous streets of the marketplace or Medina, capturing my own visions of a Jewish and Muslim culture in flux.
Artist Bio
Shape, light, color and texture tug at my senses like an intoxicating fragrance. The urge to capture an instant jolts my mind into full aliveness. It can be as simple as two shadows gliding across a wall, a gracefully errant wilting flower, or catching the look of a stranger in an uncanny instant. I lift my camera. Awe, curiosity, energy and stillness combine to create what begs to be framed.
Born in the USA, of French parents, I’ve been a gypsy all my life. Raised in Zurich, Paris and New York City, I have woven the fabric of my background into my photographs. A former career as Fashion Editor and Art Director in NYC, helped to sharpen a discerning eye. Ithaca photographer Harry Littell, photographer Joel Meyerowitz and Harvey Stein have been great sources of inspiration. I currently live in Ithaca, NY with frequent travel to New York and Paris.
Gallery Night Tarot Readings
Manuela Amzallag and Shoji Arts welcome local witch Brighit May for tarot readings at the July gallery night!
