From October 15, 2026, the Musée des Confluences Dar El Bacha will host "Enki Bilal – The Exhibition," a journey through the world of the master of comics and contemporary painting. It is organized by the National Museums Foundation and Artcurial.
A major artistic event in Marrakech
The Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences presents from the October 15th 2026 an exhibition dedicated to Enki BilalThe artist is a major figure in European comics, whose work extends far beyond the realm of the ninth art.
The exhibition is organized by the National Museums Foundation (FNM) et Artcurial, a French auction house. It brings together original comic strips, paintings and drawings covering several decades of creation.
Who is Enki Bilal?
Enki Bilal was born in 1951 in Belgrade, in Marshal Tito's non-aligned Yugoslavia, still scarred by the recently ended war. He arrived in Paris before the age of ten, a city that welcomed him and where the characters from his stories often reappear.
He is the author of:
- The Phalanges of the Black Order (1979)
- Hunting party (1983)
- The trilogy Nikopola seminal work featuring its most iconic characters
- The cycle of monstre and the trilogy of Outburst of Blood
- Bug, his most recent cycle (four albums published to date)
His world blends fantasy, historical backdrops, and images of disconcerting beauty. A lover of freedom, he has always refused to be confined to a single style or discipline. The near future is his preferred theme: he analyzes the present, reinterprets it in his own way, and then constructs a narrative slightly shifted in time. Recognized for his mastery of color, he expresses himself with the same intensity through monochrome.
The origins of an imaginary world
Enki Bilal's imagination is rooted in the Balkans, in the land of the South Slavs. Belgrade, its fortress and ramparts, the Church of Saint Sava, the Terazije district, the Hotel Moskva, family movie nights, and the Partizan football club all permeate his work, in ways both subtle and overt. There, one encounters lost souls, gnawing pain, men and women searching for something, who long to escape the clutches of fate.
To draw, to paint, to trace
For Enki Bilal, each project is an experience. He begins by writing, then thinks about "drawing" or "painting," a technique he has favored since The Monster's SleepHe then becomes a set designer, so that the panels, which can be seen as paintings, find their place and fully support the narrative. The album, an object held in the hands, is the final stage of this process. From the cycle of monstre à BugHe moves from one project to another, from one style to another, from one color to another, while remaining himself: an artist in transit.
What you will be able to discover
The exhibition features, among other things:
- A board of The Carnival of Immortals (trilogy Nikopol, 1980), in India ink and gouache
- Works about Hunting party (plate from 1983 and illustration of the "Epitaph", 1990)
- The illustration Ordinance 20-27, created for "Offside" (1987)
- Works from the series BUG (volumes 1 and 3), in acrylic and oil pastels
- Several works from the tetralogy of monstre : The Monster's Sleep (1998) 32 December (2003) et Four ? (2007)
- Studies for The color of the air, in grease pencil on tinted paper
- One + One Two (2015), created for the exhibition “Enki Bilal Inbox – Hybridization [in love]” in Tokyo
- Connected I et Connected II (2023), created for the "Out of the Box" exhibition in Monte Carlo
- The stork et The falcon (2026), mixed media, acrylic and pastel
- Un Autoportrait From 2024, acrylic, pastel and oil pastel on paper, which illustrates the exhibition poster
A work that transcends comics
Enki Bilal's work has been the subject of major exhibitions: "The Ghosts of the Louvre" (Louvre Museum, 2012-2013), "Mechanhumanimal" (Museum of Arts and Crafts, 2013-2014), "Deconstruct" (Artcurial, Paris, 2021), "At the Frontiers of Humanity" (Museum of Man, 2022) and "Dechronos - Memory of the Future" (Artcurial, Saint-Tropez, 2024).
He also participated in the Venice Biennale with the installations "Inbox" (2015) and "Vetige / Vetige" (2017), and collaborated with choreographer Angelin Preljocaj on Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet" (Lyon Opera, 1990). A film enthusiast since childhood, he has directed three films. Over the years, he has transcended the traditional boundaries of comics, contributing to its development as a contemporary art form.
An exceptional setting: the Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences
The exhibition takes place in a location that is already a work of art in itself. Located in the heart of the old medina of Marrakech, Dar El Bacha is a majestic residence built in the 1910s by Thami El Glaoui (1878-1956), Pasha of Marrakech from 1907 to 1956. This typical example of a riad is organized around a rectangular garden surrounded by six rooms on its four sides.
Zellige tiles, carved wooden ceilings, door and window facades inspired by Europe (particularly Italy), built-in central heating, and a water supply and drainage system: the palace illustrates both the expertise of Moroccan artisans and the Pasha's taste. Managed by the National Museums Foundation since July 2015, it has become the "Museum of Confluences," dedicated to the tangible and intangible cultural and heritage contributions that have shaped the country's identity.
Organizers
- National Museums Foundation (FNM) Created in 2011 under the impetus of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, it now has twenty-three museums open to the public throughout the Kingdom.
- Artcurial : founded in 2002, a leading French auction house, present in Paris, Monaco, Marrakech and Switzerland.
Practical information
- Opening of the exhibition: October 15th 2026
- Location: Museum of Confluences, Dar El Bacha, 65, 69 Riad Laârous, Dar El Bacha Road, 40000 Marrakech
- Hours: From 10am to 18pm, closed on Mondays
- Prices:
- Foreign visitors: 60 DHS
- Moroccans and foreign residents: 25 DHS
- Moroccans and foreign residents under 18 years of age: 15 DHS
- Free access:
- Every day: for Moroccan pupils, students and teaching staff upon presentation of supporting documentation, for students of foreign educational institutions located in Morocco, and for holders of the ICOM card
- Friday: for Moroccans and foreign residents upon presentation of their residence permit
- Discount: 50% discount for ISIC, IYTC and ITIC cardholders
- Guided tours : on appointment
- Phone: +212 (0) 5 24 38 17 63
- Contact : [email protected] / [email protected]
- Website: www.fnm.ma
