“We know ourselves as part and as crowd, in an unknown that does not terrify. We cry our cry of poetry. Our boats are open, and we sail them for everyone.” –Édouard Glissant

MIMI is a residency for artists and poets to collaborate in Morocco around contemporary issues and questions.

Morocco has drawn and inspired artists, writers and musicians for hundreds of years. Sitting at the crossroads of Africa, Europe, and the Arab world, it has long been a place of exchange, conquest, migration, and freedom, and holds both paradox and enigma. MIMI provides a ground for creative collaboration and experimentation across disciplines within this rich culture and history.

We ask:

What is the work of art and poetry in times of brutality?

How can art and poetry unsettle colonial systems and dehumanizing logics? 

What reminds you of home? 

Where do you belong?

How might we protect each other through the structures we make?

Who is in the room together?

Which futures do we wish to work towards?

Founding & Structure:

Dreamed up by Maya Pindyck and Reem Rahim, the MIMI residency makes space for creative exchange and interdisciplinary collaboration within our current moment.  The residency includes readings, discussions, local studio visits, excursions, and time and space for making.

MIMI is named after a blanket that Maya gave Reem’s son Ziad when he was a baby. Ziad called the blanket “Mimi” and later grew to refer to all soft things as “Mimi.”

2027 Time & Location:

MIMI 2027 will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco from June 12 - 21. Eight participating artists and poets share a studio and reside 15 minutes outside the city in a quiet setting lush with olive trees. The residency is fully funded with the exception of airfare/travel.