Miami Tea Party

Miami's Lincoln Road is always a colorful sight to see. Earlier this month, though, the popular South Beach locale was more than a place to be—it was a portal to another land. 

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Hassan Hajjaj brought his native Marrakech to the Florida capital for one week and one week only as part of a culinary-meets-cultural experience in collaboration with Capital One and the Cultivist during Art Basel. Entitled “DAR MIAMI 1446,” (“house of Miami” in Arabic and the year 2024 on the Arabic calendar), the project is one of the most personal that the contemporary artist and photographer has taken on in recent years. “I wanted to do Marrakech right,” he says, sipping a tiny espresso as he makes his way through the exhibition's entrance on opening night. Around him, a world of color unfolds.

Formerly the site of Showfields, the pop-up unfolds under Hajjaj’s eye into several vignettes that mirror the intimacy of an Arabic parlor. Warm tamarind yellows and deep pomegranate purples cover archived walls in vinyl textiles designed by the artist himself and contrast sky-blue cyans and lime citrus greens found just around the corner. Of course, there’s original and revisited work from Hajjaj’s oeuvre, too, such as U-Lot 2010, 2019, which is shown via digital screens in its own viewing gallery. 

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In a mint green pullover and matching snapback the artist has a noticeably more mild manner than his personal presentation, vivid work—exuberant, man-on-the-street type portraits that convey the chromaticity of Moroccan culture, even the room we’re in now—would suggest. “This is my first time in Miami,” Hajjaj admits. “I brought some things with me.” He’s admiring Seymour, a guembri—or “sintir” player he brought from back home, but there are a bevy of material things, too.

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There’s of course Hajjaj’s tea Jajjah—the artist’s last name spelled backward—which is served in the space’s open cafe along with sweets by Rose Previte of the Michelin-starred Maydān. Across from here sits the merch shop, where 100 percent of co-branded DAR MIAMI 1446 hoodies and beanies benefit The Miami Foundation, a local non-profit that supports marginalized populations in city's greater area. 

Stock crates, a recurring motif in Hajjaj’s work, fill the back dining hall, where the artist has created a full salon to host even the largest of families. Overhead you feel the warm glow emitting from light fixtures created by repurposing old cans of vegetables, and around you can nearly hear the hums, buzzes, and loud voices of his city. “You really feel like you’re there,” Hajjaj agrees. Later, the grandiose table which sits before you will be gratuitously coated in a gorgeous mezze created by Previte, who is known for her bold take on Middle Eastern cuisine. 

In May of next year, guests will have the opportunity to actually go to Marrakech themselves with the artist as part of a special project arranged by Capital One and the Cultivist. The four-night trip will feature an after-hours tour of the Musee Yves Saint Laurent, dining with chef Rachid Agouray, and a personal photoshoot with Hajjaj.

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“This whole project is about music, people, and food,” Hajjaj says for now returning to Seymour in Miami. “I know just everyone is going to have a great time.”