3oubour, A River Between Mountains is an artist residency and exhibition series connecting Fes, Morocco and London, UK.
3oubour was developed as part of the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants programme, which supports UK and oversees organisations to make connections and create new work around the world. The project invited eight artists to critically consider the concept of technical knowledge and innovation, not just as something which always has to be ‘new’, but also as existing within the realm of inherited and locally bound practices that go back several centuries, and how these revelations could illuminate ways of being, sustainable thinking and collective acting in-between local and global contexts.
Over a four week residency in the medina of Fes – one of the oldest cities in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site renowned for its craft heritage – the artists have collaborated with master craftspeople, who work with wood, tiles, metal, leather, tapestry, horn, jewellery, plaster and more. They visited their workshops to create new commissions, using a mix of contemporary and centuries old, traditional techniques with an emphasis on sustainability.
A final exhibition of the new commissions is upcoming at Crafts Council Gallery 13 – 22 November 2025. Alongside the exhibition will be a public programme of events with the artists exploring craft, sustainability, technology and colonialism, including a 3oubour x Lab X performance and workshop with Artsadmin at Toynbee Studios.
3oubour is co-produced by The Arab British Centre, A.MAL Projects and Takafes, with the support of British Council in Morocco, Henry Moore Foundation, Artsadmin, and Freelands Foundation. In partnership with Crafts Council. Design by Salt & Sister Studio.
Participating Artists
Dima Srouji
Dima Srouji is an architect and visual artist whose work explores the ground as a space rich in cultural weight and potential for collective repair.
Mehdi Ouahmane
Mehdi Ouahmane blends digital and traditional media to explore myth, escapism, and eco-catastrophes through fragmented dialogues and whimsical realms, contemplating past and present in his surreal, game-inspired narratives.
Alia Hamaoui
Alia Hamaoui merges sculpture, painting, and print to explore memory, history, and cultural identity through layered fragments and muted tones, interrogating how images shape our understanding of historical narratives and cultural identities.
Nabil Himich
Nabil Himich merges architecture and literature to explore postcolonial aporias, class hierarchies, and spatial politics through multidisciplinary works, employing concepts like ‘con-texture’ to deconstruct power, territory, and representation.
Monya Riachi
Monya Riachi is a multidisciplinary artist whose research-driven practice explores land politics, ecological transformation, and the agency of matter through sculpture, installation, and collaborative works.
WWW (World War Water)
www (world war water) is a collaborative research project conceived by Lori Kharpoutlian, Imane Elkabli, and Aïda Jamal. The project takes on the form of a series of works combining performance, installation, poetry, and video, exploring and questioning the personal, ecological, and political tensions that surround water.
Resources
Online Residency Recordings
These videos are part of our online residency inviting artists to expand our understanding of methodology within artistic practice. These talks were delivered over four weeks and are being published to promote the sharing of knowledge.
3oubour x Esmat Publishing List
Open Call for Writers
We are excited to announce that we will be commissioning four researchers and art writers to, inspired by the 3oubour artists’ commissions, explore historical or new connections between crafts, technological innovation and/or environmental issues in the South West Asia and North Africa region. Deadline to apply 2 September.