MASEREEL

In 2010, Bart Van Dijck stayed in Tangier, where he asked beggars to make a drawing in exchange for an alms. During a second stay in August, at the beginning of Ramadan, a significant period since giving alms is one of the pillars of Islam, there were more beggars on the streets than at any other time of the year.
Van Dijck collected around sixty drawings and added a short descriptive text to each. The project was compiled into a trilingual artists’ book (Dutch, Arabic, and French) titled 10 Dirhams – Souvenir de Tanger.
After the publication, Van Dijck returned to Tangier to give the contributors a copy of the book, but this proved difficult: the books were initially confiscated by customs, and later not all of the drawers could be traced. Those he did meet responded with pride or recognition.

10 Dirhams is a co-production of Moussem, De Garage / Cultuurcentrum Mechelen, MASEREEL and Bart Van Dijck.