The 6th edition of the Marrakech Biennale took from 24 February to 8 May 2016. It was curated by Reem Fadda, the Associate Curator of Middle Eastern Art for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project. The programming took a multidisciplinary approach to unite and introduce artists and works primarily from the Arab World, the Mediterranean region and Sub-Saharan Africa. Frieze described the 6th Biennale Not New Now as ‘a testament to the possibility for co-existence between various cultures, religions, ethnicities and histories’. The event saw new president Amine Kabbaj and curator Reem Fadda, associate curator of Middle Eastern Art for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, invite 53 artists, mostly from Africa, the Middle East and its diasporas, to create work - in marked contrast to many other biennales that are dominated by artists from Europe and North America. Together, the artists examined the impact of the past and how historic narratives that shape the present could be reinterpreted to create new stories and possibilities. Those participating included Talal Afifi, Haig Aivazian, El Anatsui, Tarek Atoui, Kader Attia, Dana Awartani, Yto Barrada, Isak Berbic, Dineo Seshee Bopape and Farid Belkahia.  

Participating artists: Talal Afifi, Haig Aivazian, El Anatsui, Tarek Atoui, Kader Attia, Dana Awartani, Yto Barrada, Isak Berbic, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Farid Belkahia, Ahmed Bouanani, Touda Bouanani, Mohamed Chebaa, Manthia Diawara, Melvin Edwards, Ali Essafi, Khalil El Ghrib, Sam Gilliam, David Hammons, Mohssin Harraki, Mona Hatoum, Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, Saba Innab, Bouchra Khalili, Radhika Khimji, Rachid Koraichi, Alvin D. Loving, Khaled Malas, Djibril Diop Mambéty, Jumana Manna, Ahmed Mater, Megumi Matsubara, Mohammed Melehi, Naeem Mohaiemen, Mohamed Mourabiti, Radouan Mriziga, Oscar Murillo, Sara Ouhaddou, Juan Asis Palao, Khalil Rabah, SUPERFLEX, Rayyane Tabet, The Otolith Group, Eric Van Hove, Adrián Villar Rojas, Fatiha Zemmouri.