ART RETREAT
JOIN VANESSA BRANSON THIS NOVEMBER AT EL FENN FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL
ART RETREAT
WITH A ONE DAY COLOUR WORKSHOP WITH ACCLAIMED ARTIST RITA ALAOUI
23rd – 27th November 2026
5 days / 4 nights at El Fenn
Africa is home to one of the most exciting contemporary art scenes in the world, and Marrakech sits at its beating heart. This is a city that has drawn artists, collectors and curators for generations inspiring the legendary Yves Saint Laurent, hosting the influential Marrakech Biennale, and quietly nurturing a generation of Moroccan and African artists who are commanding serious international attention. Led by El Fenn co-founder Vanessa Branson, who chaired six editions of the Biennale and has spent decades championing the continent’s artists, this retreat takes you deep inside that world: into the city’s finest museums and galleries, a stunning private art foundation, the ateliers of working artists, and a one-day workshop with leading contemporary Moroccan artist Rita Alaoui, where you’ll explore colour, texture and material before sitting down to create something of your own.
RETREAT HIGHLIGHTS
- Discover the Marrakech art scene with El Fenn cultural ambassador and curator Vanessa Branson as your guide
- Four nights at El Fenn – named on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List 2017, 2021, 2022 & 2024
- Spend the day with leading contemporary Moroccan artist Rita Alaoui during a hands-on colour workshop
- Explore the city’s finest museums and art galleries
- Meet leading curators to talk about Africa’s vibrant art scene and how to build your own collection
- Enjoy a private viewing at one of the city’s most beautiful historic spaces & tour an exclusive art foundation
- Just 16 places available on this bespoke retreat
- All meals, pre-dinner cocktails, wine with dinner, airport transfers & transport are included
- Enjoy time for yourself to discover more about your passion for art and forge new friendships with people who share it
Vanessa Branson knows Marrakech’s art world from the inside out. As co-founder of El Fenn and chair of six editions of the Marrakech Biennale, which drew artists, curators and gallerists from across the globe, she has spent years building relationships with the artists, collectors and institutions shaping contemporary African art. On this retreat, she opens all of it up to you.
You’ll tour the city’s most significant cultural spaces, including MACAAL, one of Africa’s leading contemporary art museums, and the extraordinary Montresso Foundation, a private art space set within a garden where artists live and work in residence. You’ll also explore the galleries of Gueliz and Sidi Ghanem and have a very special hosted lunch in a contemporary gallery space.
Throughout, you’ll have access to the people who know this scene best. Art advisor Hadia Temli will join you for breakfast to talk about the art of buying art, how to look, how to choose and how to start or build a collection with confidence. Expert curators will share their perspectives on African art’s distinctive rhythms, its histories and its place in the global conversation.
Then comes the highlight: a full day with Rita Alaoui. One of Morocco’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Rita will guide you through her own creative process, exploring colour, texture and material from the medina, before you sit down to make an artwork of your own. It’s an experience as personal as it is memorable.
Evenings are as considered as the days: a Moroccan family dinner hosted at El Fenn on arrival night, contemporary and traditional restaurants provide alternative experiences and a gala dinner at El Fenn to close, hosted by Vanessa and Rita.
The retreat is limited to just 16 guests.
The Moroccan Art Retreat runs 23rd November – 27th November prices start €3,795 / £3,339 / $4,592 per person for a large room (joint occupancy, single occupancy available) include all meals, pre-dinner cocktails and wine with dinner, all excursions and transport, plus airport transfers.
Flights and travel insurance are not included.
YOUR ITINERARY
Day 1 — Monday 23rd
Your retreat begins the moment you land. We’ll pick you up from Marrakech airport and bring you straight to El Fenn, where the afternoon is yours to settle in, explore the hotel and soak up that first hit of Moroccan sunshine. After lunch, Vanessa will take you on a private tour of El Fenn’s art collection, twenty years of considered curation spanning contemporary painting, sculpture and photography, with works by artists including Hassan Hajjaj, Yto Barrada, Ali Maimoun and Abelmalik Berhiss alongside a remarkable European collection. As the sun goes down, join the group for welcome cocktails on our rooftop before sitting down together for a hosted Moroccan family dinner, the best possible way to get to know the people you’ll be spending the next few days with.
Day 2 — Tuesday 24th
After breakfast with Atlas Mountains views, you’ll set off for a full day in the city. First stop is a group tour of one of Africa’s most important contemporary art institutions, a museum whose permanent collection and programme of international exhibitions puts Marrakech firmly on the world art map. From there, you’ll head to the Montresso Foundation, a stunning private art space that has been nurturing creative talent through residencies, exhibitions and partnerships since 2009. Today you’ll go behind the scenes in a way not usually open to the public — visiting the studios of resident artists, getting up close to their process and seeing work in progress that most visitors never get to witness. Lunch will be at the beautiful Jardin Rouge before the evening brings dinner at one of the city’s finest restaurants, in an extraordinary and intimate setting.
Day 3 — Wednesday 25th
Today belongs to Rita Alaoui. One of Morocco’s most celebrated contemporary artists and the creator of El Fenn’s own immersive mural installation. Rita will spend the day guiding you through her creative process: exploring colour, texture and material before you sit down to make a work of your own. It’s an intimate, personal and genuinely memorable experience. Lunch will be at El Fenn, and the evening will take you into the heart of the medina for dinner in one of Marrakech’s most magical candlelit traditional settings.
Day 4 — Thursday 26th
The day begins over breakfast with gallerist and African art specialist Hadia Temli, who will talk you through the art of buying art – how to look, how to choose and how to start or grow a collection with real confidence. Then it’s off to explore Marrakech’s gallery quarter in the heart of Gueliz, where a cluster of the city’s best contemporary spaces sit within easy walking distance of one another. Expect to discover everything from photography and painting to sculpture and installation. From there you’ll head to Sidi Ghanem, Marrakech’s exciting new creative district, where makers, designers and artists have been quietly setting up studios and ateliers over the past decade. Lunch will be hosted in the space of a brilliant community kitchen foundation, set within a contemporary museum. The retreat culminates this evening with a gala dinner at El Fenn,hosted by Vanessa, Rita and Hadia – beginning with a welcome cocktail before a set menu dinner in our candlelit restaurant. A night to remember.
Day 5 — Friday 27th
After a final leisurely breakfast, we’ll transfer you back to the airport. But if you’re not quite ready to leave and we’d understand completely, you can extend your stay with an additional night or two at a 15% discount, giving yourself time to explore the medina, return to a gallery that caught your eye, or simply lose an afternoon in the El Fenn spa.
‘I can’t wait to introduce people to the exciting art scene here in Marrakech. The creative energy in Africa is unique and this retreat offers the chance for people to really experience it all.’ Vanessa Branson
BOOKING
Booking goes live on Tuesday 2nd June.
Click on the button below to email your name and preferred room size to request a place.
Places are limited to 16 people and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
ABOUT VANESSA BRANSON
Vanessa opened her first gallery in London in 1986 where she showed emerging artists including William Kentridge’s UK debut exhibition. She also co-founded and curated the Wonderful Fund Collection with Prue O’Day – nearly 100 works of contemporary art by people including Sarah Lucas, Grayson Petty, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin and Gavin Turk.
As the Founding President of the Marrakech Biennale, she created North Africa’s only trilingual arts festival, comprising visual art, literature and film programs featuring acclaimed international and Moroccan artists.
In October 2014, she was awarded the Royal distinction of Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite, a Royal honour in recognition of the contribution she has made to the Moroccan cultural scene and, in particular, for her efforts in establishing Marrakech as a richly diverse and eclectic platform for the arts.
ABOUT RITA ALAOUI
Born in Rabat and raised in Casablanca, Rita Alaoui studied at the Parsons School of Design in Paris and New York before establishing herself as one of Morocco’s most compelling multidisciplinary artists. Her practice spans painting, photography, video-performance, installation and artist’s books, and her work has been exhibited across the UK, France, Morocco, Spain, the Emirates and beyond, held in private collections worldwide and shown in partnership with Galerie Siniya28, one of Marrakech’s most respected galleries. Nature is the thread running through everything she makes: a childhood by the sea, time spent in Morocco’s wilder landscapes, and a great-grandmother who healed with medicinal plants have all left their mark on work that is as emotionally resonant as it is visually arresting.
El Fenn has long been one of Rita’s most enthusiastic champions. Two paintings from her Autumn series form part of the hotel’s permanent collection, and at the end of 2025 she took on her most ambitious project here yet, spending five days on scaffolding to create a series of large-scale murals across El Fenn’s main entrance corridors. The resulting installation, The Inner Garden, transforms the hotel’s iconic red walls into an immersive landscape of lush flora and quiet contemplation. Guests on this retreat will experience it first-hand and then spend a full day in the studio with Rita herself, exploring colour, texture and material before sitting down to create their own work under her guidance. She is, it should be said, as generous and engaged a teacher as she is an artist.
ABOUT EL FENN
El Fenn opened in 2004 and has captured the imagination of a generation of travellers ever since with its trademark design: one part bohemian, another luxury, always a celebration of Moroccan craftsmanship. This unique feeling of home-away-from-home meets cool has seen it namechecked everywhere from Vogue to Architectural Digest. We’ve also been included on Conde Nast Traveler’s Gold List four times and The goop List 2024.
ACCOMMODATION
All our rooms feature our signature blend of traditional Moroccan artisanal decoration meets a mix of vintage and contemporary furniture and art from the El Fenn private collection. Colour-soaked and playful, each one is unique. You’ll also have access to our three swimming pools and gorgeous spa if you want to book a treatment or hammam.
Retreat Pricing by Room Category:
All prices are set in euros. Sterling and US dollar prices are approximate conversions based on current exchange rates and may vary slightly at the time of booking.
SMALL ROOMS – each of these colourful rooms has a king size bed and a walk-in shower.
Price for a small room, single occupancy only. €4,651 / £4,025 / $5,450
MEDIUM ROOMS – each of these more spacious rooms has a king size bed, small seating area, open fire and either an oversized bathtub or a walk-in shower.
Price for a medium room, single occupancy only. €5,260 / £4,550 / $6,175
LARGE ROOMS – larger rooms with a substantial indoor or outdoor seating area plus an open wood fire. Each has an oversized bathtub with a separate shower.
Price for a large room, joint occupancy. €3,795 / £3,275 / $4,450
Price for a large room, single occupancy. €5,674 / £4,925 / $6,650
EXTRA LARGE ROOMS – the ultimate in El Fenn style. These huge rooms are sumptuously styled with a large lounge area, open fireplace and a separate large bathroom.
Price for an extra large room, joint occupancy. €3,899 / £3,375 / $4,575
Price for an extra large room, single occupancy. €5,883 / £5,100 / $6,900
ACCOMMODATION
All our rooms feature our signature blend of traditional Moroccan artisanal decoration meets a mix of vintage and contemporary furniture and art from the El Fenn private collection. Colour-soaked and playful, each one is unique. You’ll also have access to our three swimming pools and gorgeous spa if you want to book a treatment or hammam.
Retreat Pricing by Room Category:
All prices are set in euros. Sterling and US dollar prices are approximate conversions based on current exchange rates and may vary slightly at the time of booking.
SMALL ROOMS – each of these colourful rooms has a king size bed and a walk-in shower.
Price for a small room, single occupancy only. €4,651 / £4,025 / $5,450
MEDIUM ROOMS – each of these more spacious rooms has a king size bed, small seating area, open fire and either an oversized bathtub or a walk-in shower.
Price for a medium room, single occupancy only. €5,260 / £4,550 / $6,175
LARGE ROOMS – larger rooms with a substantial indoor or outdoor seating area plus an open wood fire. Each has an oversized bathtub with a separate shower.
Price for a large room, joint occupancy. €3,795 / £3,275 / $4,450
Price for a large room, single occupancy. €5,674 / £4,925 / $6,650
EXTRA LARGE ROOMS – the ultimate in El Fenn style. These huge rooms are sumptuously styled with a large lounge area, open fireplace and a separate large bathroom.
Price for an extra large room, joint occupancy. €3,899 / £3,375 / $4,575
Price for an extra large room, single occupancy. €5,883 / £5,100 / $6,900
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The program on day one starts at 1:30pm with lunch on the roof terrace with Vanessa Branson followed by an exclusive art and room tour. Fly in the day before for a relaxed morning before the retreat starts, or arrive at the airport before 12:30pm to be privately transferred to El Fenn in time for lunch.
4 nights accommodation at El Fenn, all meals including cocktails and wine, all transport, private airport transfers and entrance fees to museums and visits.
- Your flights and your travel insurance
- Your airport of origin transfers
- Any additional wine or soft drinks outside of those provided during meals
Absolutely! If you want to arrive the day before the retreat starts – or stay on for a night or two afterwards to explore Marrakech a bit more then we strongly advise it. As the end of November is a less busy time in the hotel we’ll be offering retreat attendees a 15% discount on our best rates for nights booked from the 27th November.
Bright. The average temperature at the end of November is around 22C so think blue skies and sunshine by day. There is an outside chance of rain though so bear that in mind. It’s also wise to layer up because the nights at this time of year are cooler and even during the day you’ll be moving between the heat of the sun to cooler inside spaces.
El Fenn is a casual kind of place so whatever you feel comfortable in. You’ll be walking for some parts of the retreat so bear that in mind. And also in November, nights can get cold so while fires will be lit and bedrooms cosy, you might need an extra layer at night.
Not much! But we will aim to have you back to relax at the hotel by 4pm each day. Dinner will be served 7:30/8pm
Booking is via email through the links on this webpage. You will be required to pay 50% deposit to secure your place.
You may cancel at anytime up to 8 weeks before and receive your deposit back minus 5% administration fee. If you cancel within 8 weeks (5th December) we are unable to refund your deposit so please make sure you have suitable travel insurance in place.
IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW?
