Live Room 5th Annual Meeting

In December 2016, I had a chance to attend the Live Room’s event that took place in Theatre La FOL – Casablanca. I performed in front of a large audience that was full of eagerness and passion towards art. The event was successful and the staff was very welcoming and open-minded. I went back home that night and all I was thinking about is how to keep in touch with these people and could I have a second chance to be hosted in their future events? In fact, I kept in touch with the Live Room staff.

The Live Room becomes my family. I always had faith that this family won’t limit itself in artistic events and tours, but it will widen its vision towards something tangible. After five years of hard work, collaboration, persistence, and creativity, the vision of the Live Room comes true; the foundation of LABO space in Tangier where kids and young will benefit from free artistic programs under the supervision of great mentors.

As a member of the Live Room association, I was honored to attend the annual meeting that was held on January 9th, 2021 in LABO.
This year’s meeting was very different. As the sanitary situation and the focus on the launching of LABO project (from August 2020) kept the team united and updated about the project’s advancement, we decided to keep it chill and to take the opportunity to organize Live Room’s fifth anniversary party. Omar Mok’s, co-founder and CEO of Live Room Project, opens his speech by sharing the new organization, the goals and the vision of the second phase of the project which is that of moving from the vision of “Rise of Art” when we wanted to build a regional interest in art (and so we did!), to that of “Live is Life” which focuses on the study and production of free live expression. After the speech, the manager gives the floor to the attendees to talk in a form of an open mic where all members get to talk, share and animate the meeting. It was an opportunity for all the present artists to express their work, talk about the problems they face, and exchange with new members of Live Room. I am really glad I could be there to get my chance to perform AGAIN and also celebrate the 5th anniversary of Live Room in an atmosphere full of joy and enthusiasm.

Live is Life!

By Khadija Badri – Casablanca.

Summary of URBAN ART WEEK FEST – 4th edition – Tangier

Nothing can be more exciting than living once again the beautiful moments that the Urban Art Week Festival offers, especially during these long hard times. Surely not as much as we did in the past three editions because this year, we were forced to reduce our activities and our audience because of the sanitary situation, but still, we feel proud to could go ahead with the festival which included three offline events and two online ones.

After postponing the 4^th edition of Urban Art Week Fest to November 14^th, the program began with a Dance competition of the north organized by Live Room’s LABO center. Six dance crews compete in front of our jury and guests, and the final battle was between Barlaman Crew from Tangier and a mixed group that contains members from Tangier and Tetouan where Barlaman Crew won the first prize. The event was also an opportunity to test our capacity to hold an event with the new social distancing recommendations and to start reinventing new space concept for it.

Two online competitions were launched in our social media platforms just after the Dance event. The first one concerns itself with a digital Rap competition for people from the north where we invented the hash tag #noclashchallenge. The second online competition was about the creation of a digital Comic competition under the theme “A parallel world challenging corona”. Two prizes were offered for the winners. The first winner was chosen by our jury and the second one won by our user’s votes. The anecdote we had is that both competitions had one winner for both prizes (jury and votes). Maybe it proved that the jury did a great job :p Congratulations to Nizar and Hamza.

#NOCLASHCHALLENGE was very successful in terms of the number of participants (40 rappers) and audience engagement while #POSTCORONACOMICSCHALLENGE knew only the participation of 5 artists who amazed us with their creativity and drawings. However, the challenge proves that Comics discipline needs more support from us.

As we used to offer the citizens of Tangier city every year, a Street Art mural, this year we continued this edition with another collective artwork. We regrouped 3 street artists: Sako, Nouh and Ilyas. The Street Art mural was under the theme “Post corona: a world more digital than ever” were we wanted to talk to kids and parents about the importance of technology in the near future. The action took 4 days and it was an opportunity for young street artists to come assist the team and participate in a live workshop.

To watch streert art mural report done by local news media 9 Avril: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWWgyFIhqb4&feature=emb_title

The festival closed its activities with two skateboarding competitions in the Sahat Spot. Live Room had the honor to be the first one to organize a Game of Skate and Best Skate Trick battle in Tangier with the help of TNG Extreme association. We really had good time watching those young participants competing and enjoying their times. Congratulations to Reda and Achraf.

Finally, we would like to thank every supporter and participant in the 4^th edition of Urban Art Week Fest. Special thanks to everybody who was there, who shared, liked or commented. Big UP to our dear team, juries and friends who helped in organizing the event. Without you all, this event wouldn’t have been that successful. Last but not least, we would like to express our special thanks to our partners for this edition: American Language Center of Tangier and French Embassy of Morocco.

Thank you too dear reader! See you next event 😊

LABO: our new cultural center in Tangier.

Live Room Project is very happy to announce you the future opening of his new cultural center LABO in Tangier!

What is LABO?

LABO is, as its name suggests -an abbreviation of the word laboratory- a space for experimenting with the basic concept of Live Room, which is a physical or digital space for the studying, promotion and sharing of free artistic expression. Its main mission is human development through art and culture.

LABO is also an open stage, a platform, a commercial space, an entity supporting artists, a place of free expression, a co-working space, a cultural incubator and a center for raising awareness of artistic awakening. The major axes of its programming are: Art, Pedagogy and Cross-border activities. We made a video to give you an idea of what we’re preparing for you. Thanks to over 40 men and women who participated in the making of this video. Special thanks to the team director without whose effort, this video wouldn’t have been made.

Missions and Programs:

The missions of LABO center are: To test and implement new forms of promotion of creative capacities; To encourage artistic awakening; To promote and support artistic creation; To encourage the mobility of creations, artists and the public and stimulate exchanges with collectives and institutions in social and cultural sector.

To accomplish its missions, LABO will offer a varied planning with seven programs for young people and children (Theater, Dance, Street Art, Handcraft & drawing, A/V & Virtual reality, Music, Writing), four events for the general public(Artistic meetings, Live Room Show, BlaBla+, Urban Art Week Festival) and other activities in partnership with external collaborators (Shows, concerts, artistic workshops and educational, residencies, readings, debates, thematic evenings, dance, screenings, exhibitions, and other unusual events…). LABO will operate in school season mode (Sept-Jul).

Finally, the multidisciplinary cultural and artistic center LABO -of which we estimate more than 1000 participants per year- will include administrative offices, 2 workshops, a relaxation area (café / brunch), a music studio and a big auditorium (theater / café-theater / workshop).

Many thanks to our lovely users for believing in us.

Many thanks to the Live Room team who worked hard to achieve this

Many thanks to our dear partners for trusting us

A new phase of the project has just begun We can’t be more excited!!

To be continued…

This project is supported by DROSOS FOUNDATION.

Live is Life!

Urban Art Week Festival is BACK!

The Urban Art Week festival is normally organized in early July just after the Bac exams. However this year, due to COVID, the date has been rescheduled. Do you remember that we were forced to postpone the organization of the 4th edition of the Urban Art Week Festival in Tangier this last summer? We reached you out on our social media to help us decide whether you prefer to have a digital version of the festival in August or wait to follow the progress of the sanitary crisis hoping to organize the festival at the end of October (read article) Most of you voted for postponing the event with the hope that we can live a real version not a virtual one. Now we have fixed a date: The fourth edition of the Urban Art Week Festival will be held in the first week of November and the program will be partly on-line and off-line.

Program 2020:

Online Events:

Following the ban of making mass gatherings, we’re sorry to announce that we think that there might be no big concert or expo in 2020 that is why we thought about using the budget allocated to concerts, exhibitions and shows to support artists from the north by offering them a prize to win after the public vote on their videos posted on our social networks. The vote concerns the following categories:

Rap Competition
Urban Dance Competition
Xtreme Competition
Competition Digital Art

Offline event:

The offline event is going to be an organization of a street art animation action in a popular district of Tangier (Old town, Casabarata, etc.) to do collective street art workshops (drawing on the wall, graffiti workshop, DJ animation, Hip-hop and sports urban) for the benefit of children and adolescents in these neighborhoods.

Method: An urban wall (or two depending on availability and guidance from local authorities) will first be selected for action in a working-class neighborhood or in a busy central street for access to outlying areas. Young people and children from the neighborhoods will be brought together beforehand via our direct and digital communication to tell them the goal, date and program of the action. The action will be supervised by a coordinator who will explain the theme and push the audience to join the artists in its imaginary futuristic environment where we want to explore how these young people imagine the world after the pandemic and to rebuild their future fears and hopes as well. The three to four Street artists, who will guide the most curious of the young assistants in the implementation of their imagination and creativity around the presented theme, will put the first sketches of the collective work and will finish by drawing a pleasant and ever-lasting visual landscape. The street will be brought to life by urban music and in particular by encouraging young people to present their rhymes or sing some of their favorite rap songs. (subject to authorization).

Job offer: Program and Production Officer

Program and Production Officer (Tangier)

As part of its development, and for the launch of its LABO experimentation and production center, the Live Room association is recruiting a full-time Production Manager / Program Coordinator from October 2020.

Assisting and reporting to the CEO, he will have the following tasks:

Group animation,
Transmission of knowledge,
Awakening of curiosity,
Stimulation of reflection.

Essential skills required: have a start-up spirit, high capacity to work with young people and children and must represent skills in artistic and educational field. Having a history with Live Room Project is a plus.

Missions:

Supervision of production at the LABO center.
Preparation of the necessary logistics for the activities
Planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of activities
Animation of workshops if requested
Establishment of activity calendars
Support for users and their families (for children)
Recruitment, coordination and evaluation of external trainers
Management of the material stock of the production hub
Responsible for the centre’s equipment and installations
Assistance in the implementation of the artistic vision of the project
Assignment and motivation of volunteers

Qualifications:

Three to five years of organizational experience in an artistic / cultural field and / or in education.
Knowledge of cultural and educational environments and ability to work on different disciplines.
Ease in direct communication with the target (<25yrs, and parents)
Ability to coordinate programs for a range of audiences and familiarity with children and youth.
Show creativity and innovation in leading cultural programs involving schoolchildren and young people as well as Live Room events.
Experience in team management
Personal skills of energetic leadership and openness in the promotion of cultural diversity.
Demonstrate competence and experience in artistic and event work.

Contract and remuneration:

2-year fixed-term contract with executive status.
~ 100 k MAD gross annually
Mutual

Applications should include:

An updated Curriculum Vitae;
A letter describing the candidate’s main motivations.

Applications should be sent in English or French by email to: liveroomofficial@gmail.com

We are Hiring! Communication & Coordination Officer (woman)

Job description: Communication and Coordination Officer

As part of Live Room Project development, and for the launch of its LABO experimentation and production center, the Live Room association is recruiting a full-time / part-time Communication and Coordination Officer (woman) from October 2020.

Tasks:

Internal communication (association, LABO center)
External communication (users, partners)
Digital communication (Web, social media)
General assistance and coordination

Essential skills required:

Target and result oriented, interested in culture and art, and possessing a start-up spirit. Knowledge of the cultural fabric of the northern region + history of volunteering with Live Room Project is a plus.

Missions:

Help set up and apply the project’s communication policy
Internal team communication (Editing press releases, Notes, forms, etc.)
Internal communication Center (Design of supports, direct actions to users, parents, etc.)
External communication (management of direct marketing actions, design of the necessary supports, relationship with the media and press, partners, etc.)
Digital communication (content creation, community management, newsletters, website blog, Data optimization, etc.)
Ensure monitoring and reporting
Assist direction in the development of the project
Coordination with coordinators, volunteers and users.

Qualifications:

Successful first experience (2-5 yrs) in communications and marketing
Good knowledge of B2B/B2C communication, web marketing
Experience in digital marketing
Design and creation of advertising content
Perfect writing and oral skills in French and English. Fluency in Spanish is a plus.
Mastery of computer graphics and video animation tools are a plus
Ability to work under deadline pressure
Be versatile, social, responsive, creative and autonomous
Have a great sense of teamwork

Organization:

Line manager: CEO of the Live Room Project (Executive Director of the association)

Internal functional relationship:

Employees of the association
All project collaborators
Association edge

External functional relationship:

Center users
Volunteers
Users of the project’s digital platforms
Partners
Press and external media

Contract and remuneration:

Position to be held: October 2020
Geographical location: Tangier
Contract:
2-year CDD contract. Evolution to CDI communication manager
~ 105 k MAD gross annually
Insurance

Applications should include:

An updated Curriculum Vitae with links for your social media (FB, IG, LinkedIn, TikTok, Ytube, etc.) accounts;
A Describtion of the candidate’s motivations.

Applications should be sent in English or French by email to: liveroomofficial@gmail.com

Call for applications for position: Administrative and Financial Officer

Call for applications for position: Administrative and Financial Officer.

Live Room is a project that uses art as an alternative form of education by creating a physical or digital space to promote and share artistic expression LIVE. Since its launch at the end of 2015, Live Room Project has organized + 40 events served +400 artists / amateurs and collaborated with +15 collectives. Today it is considered one of the most promising cultural projects in the region. For more information please visit our website: www.liveroomproject.com

As part of its development, and for the launch of its LABO experimentation and production center, the Live Room association is recruiting a full-time Administrative and Financial Manager from October 2020.

Tasks:

Administrative management,
Application of procedures,
Financial management,
Accounting management.

Essential skills required:

Familiarity and inclination to work with different stakeholders, interest in culture and art, and possession of a start-up spirit. Having a history with Live Room Project is a plus.

Missions:

Ensures the application of the association’s manual of processes.
Administrative and Financial monitoring of the project: Development of dashboards and reports
Management of the cash box
Drafting of contracts
Staff management, social aspects and preparation of payroll
Accounting bookkeeping
Banking operations
Administrative management of purchasing process
Archiving and document management, inventories
Management of audits

Qualifications:

Three to five years of experience in administrative and financial management.
Good knowledge of general / cost accounting
Good legal knowledge of the laws governing associations
Good editorial and communication skills (FR, EN)
Mastery of office automation tools
Ability to work under deadline pressure
Be methodical, organized with great attention to detail
Be versatile, responsive and autonomous
Have a great sense of teamwork
Fluency in French and English

Organization:

Line manager: CEO of the Live Room Project (or Executive Director of the association)

Internal functional relationship:

Treasurer and President of the association
Employees of the association
All project collaborators

External functional relationship:

Funders and sponsors
Banks
Accounting firms
Lawyers
Consultants

Contract and remuneration:

Position to be held: 01 October 2020
Geographical location: Tangier
CDD 2 years, Executive status. Evolution to CDI A/F manager.
~105 k MAD gross annual

Applications should include:

An updated CV in French/English;
A letter describing the candidate’s main motivations.
Links to your social media

Applications should be sent in English or French by email to: liveroomofficial@gmail.com

Last update: Urban Art Week Fest 4 is postponed

The Coronavirus crisis has deeply affected both the cultural and artistic sectors and more specifically the organization of events; the Live Room Project is no exception. Due to the pandemic, many programs were canceled particularly two episodes of the interactive series BlaBla + (March and June), an Artistic Meeting (April), the Ramadan Show (May) and the fourth edition of the Urban Art Week festival (July).

The 4th edition of Urban Art Week Fest is postponed

We are following the situation with the greatest possible attention. Sadly, the situation in Morocco is not promising. Because of these circumstances, we cannot resume activities in direct contact with the public until next September. In meanwhile, we are hoping to maintain the festival UAW going. In an article subsequent to this one, we explained why we preferred not to embark on digital actions due to the lack of our current resources; the thing that will prevent us from achieving the satisfaction and objectives set for the actions. The association preferred to benefit from lockdown to enhance the activities in order to get ready for the upcoming project and which will see the birth of a physical management center and LABO activity.

But the debate never stopped for the Urban Art Week Tangier Festival. Our artists keep on making the event happen. So, we thought about a 100% digital solution which was to organize the festival only on our social networking sites and focus on digital competitions (digital comics and drawings), individual urban dance, Graffiti sketching, Rap, and Beatbox that our followers can watch and vote on Instagram & Facebook. Before taking the decision and discussing it with the sponsors, we launched a survey with our users to see whether they prefer making a digital edition or postpone it until school entrance to coincide with the opening of the LABO space. The result was sharp. More than 70% voted for postponing the event in order to maintain physical participation.

We thank you for your confidence and we promise to get back to you more productive and more crazy and funny than ever!

Stay tuned for more updates.

One Love.

Art in times of Corona

Today we have just finished the first week of total containment and more than two weeks of distrust and confusion. The Coronavirus dictates its law on the whole world and that law is very simple: Beware! Stay at home! Protect yourself!

The majority of us acted according to this law – which now seems fundamental to our survival – without being able to worry about the future of our social, cultural, and artistic life.

In our sector, culture and entertainment, we were among the first who read the future that awaits us because of this health crisis: the first official decree coming out in Morocco during the second week of March 2020 was prohibiting sporting events in the first place until further notice. Our activity was directly linked to the exploitation of sharing artistic talents which arose after the public gathered around our events. Also, the timing of the crisis was going to astound our plans because it comes at the start of our activities in the second half of the season which coincides the renewal of our administration committee and preparations of the 4^th edition of the Urban Art Week festival. Things got aggravated very quickly. The first decision we had to make within the association is to stop working on the progress of activities for two weeks so that each member can get used to his/her new system during pandemic without stressing about work. We had to see through the situation before deciding on an action plan.

Indeed, in our annual calendar of activities appeared in the box on Saturday, April 28 the 3^rd episode of BlaBla + under the theme “Harassment, what solutions? “. Today, Friday 27^th, D-1 of the event, we would have been at full speed to prepare everything for D-Day but we are forced to cancel – or rather postpone – the event. Several questions confuse our vision and prompt us at this time to wonder more and more about the strategy to adopt for this new world which is gradually taking shape on the horizon of this crisis, a very distant and digital world than ever, a world where we may no longer recognize the former interests of human beings.

Live Room Project wants to inform you that its pilot team will continue the work on the structuring of the association and the preparation during this lockdown as far as possible for the project to be launched in the LABO center. Regarding digital actions, we noticed that our technical tools as well as the Moroccan digital platforms cannot provide us with the necessary support to move to the organization and dissemination of live events on the web. At the moment, we will be in charge of raising awareness and disseminating the responsible artistic content that we receive under the current pandemic. #fuckcorona

To be continued.

2019’s Meeting of Live Room Association

Annual meeting

The Live Room association held its first general meeting in 2019 on Saturday, December 14 in Tangier, in the presence of 7 of the board of directors’ members and 20 other active members of the project.
The agenda for this meeting covers:
– Presentation of the association’s achievements during the 2018-19 season
– Presentation of administrative needs for the structuring of the association
– Set of objectives for next season.
– General strategy adopted by the association.
– Call of commitment to the new Live Room’s Project: LABO

Also, we informed the participants that the period of validity for the current administrative council has ended and that the application is open for the coming season. Omar Mokadem, currently president, and Nabil Bedda, treasurer, state that they will change positions and become office advisers. A second meeting will be held in the coming days to validate the new board of directors’ offices.

4 years of Live Room Project

Finally, we took this opportunity to blow out the candles for the fourth anniversary of the Live Room Project by wishing to see more female members in the association.