Paper short abstract:

This paper offers an evaluative analysis of governmental and non-governmental efforts to curate and preserve desert cultures in Morocco and Mauritania. Its ultimate goal is to assess the role the curation of local desert cultures has played in making and teaching heritage in both countries.

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses the question of curating desert cultures both in Morocco and Mauritania through museums and cultural centers. Over the past two decades, and as desert places cover a good deal of Moroccan and Mauritanian geographies, both governmental and civil society actors in Morocco and Mauritania have adopted various cultural policies to preserve desert heritage. Mention can be made of the 2015 Royal Model of Southern Provinces Development in Morocco and the Mauritanian Law NO 024-2019 for the preservation and promotion of Hassani cultural heritage. Coupled with these two governmental projects, a number of civil society initiatives have been launched in the region to contribute to the revival and survival of the cultural collective memory of the desert local communities. Examples of these projects and initiatives involve the creation of local cultural museums and cultural centers where Arabo-Afro-Amazigh desert cultures have been showcased, through curated exhibitions and displays of objects like traditional clothing, tools, and artifacts that reflect the daily lives of desert communities in these regions. Hence, this paper offers an evaluative analysis of these efforts to assess the role the curation of local desert cultures has played in making and teaching heritage in Morocco and Mauritania.

Keywords: Hassani Desert culture, Morocco, Mauritania, Heritage, Museums