Kulte Art & Editions

Kulte Art & Editions (commonly shortened to Kulte) is an independent cultural enterprise based in Rabat, Morocco, combining a contemporary art center with a publishing house. Describing itself as a singular model of cultural enterprise — a hybrid art structure and publishing house — Kulte produces work that is at once heritage- and history-oriented, pedagogical and artistic. Its stated mission is to present, archive, write about and publish on the history of the visual arts, cinema, architecture and singularities, a reconstruction effort the organization began in 2013 and which has grown into an essential space for discussion, research, production and resource-sharing on the regional scene. The organization operates from 151 Impasse El Khariya on the Quai du Bouregreg in Rabat, with free entrance Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm. Its programming is curated and editorial in nature, aiming to reflect contemporary literary and artistic production while stimulating interaction between authors, artists, cultural actors and audiences. Kulte explicitly commits to the liberalization and democratization of access to culture, pursued through the publication of art books at affordable prices and through texts translated into Arabic, French and English. Kulte Editions, the publishing arm, is central to this mission. Its catalogue is deliberately multilingual — Arabic, French and English — and is distributed both in Morocco and internationally, with the stated goal of reaching broad and diverse publics. The creation of Kulte Studio RISO extends this dynamic: by self-printing books, the publishing house gains greater autonomy, produces art prints at lower cost, and works in a way described as 100% ecological, since risograph printing uses ecological ink. The studio, located on Avenue Mohammed V in Rabat, is equipped with a large RISO MF9350 press and a smaller RISO CR1610. The art center side of Kulte offers a rich and varied program spanning young artists, archival projects, contemporary productions and partnerships with other structures, with a focus on incubating, designing, producing and disseminating long-term artistic and editorial projects between artists, researchers and curators. According to its own account, roughly half of the exhibitions it presents are non-profit in aim. Kulte thus positions itself as a platform dedicated to contemporary art and culture on the African continent, operating at the intersection of exhibition-making, publishing, archiving and education.

Kulte Art & Editions traces its origins to 2013, when the organization began what it describes as a work of reconstruction around the history of the visual arts, cinema, architecture and singularities. From this starting point it developed into a hybrid structure: at once an independent contemporary art center and a publishing house, based in Rabat, Morocco, and oriented toward the contemporary art and culture of the African continent. Over time Kulte built a dual identity. On one side stands the art center, which presents a curated exhibition program featuring young artists, archival projects, contemporary productions and partnerships with other cultural structures. On the other stands Kulte Editions, the publishing arm, whose catalogue is published in Arabic, French and English and distributed in Morocco and internationally at accessible prices — a deliberate strategy to reach many publics and to encourage reading, freedom of publishing and freedom of expression in Morocco. A significant later development was the creation of Kulte Studio RISO, an in-house risograph printing studio. This allowed the publishing house to self-print its books, increasing its autonomy, producing art prints at lower cost, and doing so in a manner described as 100% ecological thanks to the use of ecological ink in risograph printing. The studio, located on Avenue Mohammed V in Rabat, is equipped with a large RISO MF9350 machine and a smaller RISO CR1610. The organization operates from 151 Impasse El Khariya on the Quai du Bouregreg in Rabat, with free entrance from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm. Its programming emphasizes incubation, conception, realization and dissemination of long-term artistic and editorial projects developed between artists, researchers and curators. According to Kulte's own account, approximately half of the exhibition projects it presents are non-profit in aim, underlining its commitment to the liberalization and democratization of access to culture.

• 2013

  Kulte begins its work of reconstruction around the history of the visual arts, cinema, architecture and singularities, marking the origin of the organization.

• Kulte Editions is established as the publishing arm, publishing multilingual art books in Arabic, French and English.

• Kulte Studio RISO is created, equipping the publishing house with in-house risograph printing (RISO MF9350 and RISO CR1610).

Independent, non-profit-oriented contemporary art center and publishing house democratizing access to culture through affordable multilingual art books and ecological RISO printing.

• Kulte Editions art books

  Affordable art books published in Arabic, French and English, distributed in Morocco and internationally.

• Risograph art prints

  Art prints produced in-house at Kulte Studio RISO using ecological ink.

• Exhibition catalogues and translated texts

  Editorial projects accompanying exhibitions and texts translated into Arabic, French and English.

1. 1Kulte – Center For Contemporary Art & Editionsartkulte.com
2. 2About – Kulteartkulte.com
3. 3INFO – Kulteartkulte.com
4. 4ACCESS – Kulteartkulte.com
5. 5Kulte Art & Editions – Wikidatawikidata.org