Ghita Abens is a Moroccan illustrator and graphic designer. A graduate of the École Supérieure des Arts Visuels in Marrakech and in her second year of doctoral studies at Sonipat in India, she is developing a research project in which she is analysing techniques capable of visually translating Moroccan folk tales. As part of an Odyssée residency, she was hosted at the Ferme de Villefavard in Limousin from May 3 to June 30, 2023.
The marvelous is far from static in contemporary society. In Limousin, tales and legends continue to enrich the popular imagination. They continue to circulate in families, schools, workplaces and public spaces. An ancient tradition linked to orality and the Occitan language, popularized by storytellers and collectors like Marcelle Delpastre, Limousin tales are part of the quest for meaning in our rural territories.
As part of a residency on the possible links between Limousin tales and Moroccan folk tales, illustrator Ghita Abens has focused her research on the imaginary world of the fantastic beings and creatures of the Limousin forests and their contemporary transmission to the local population. She has also carried out a comparative study of the place of craftsmen in tales and legends, particularly in relation to the differences in understanding of the noble nature of their skills.
During her stay, Ghita Abens organized mediation sessions with various publics. These encounters, organized on the initiative of the Ferme de Villefavard, enabled Ghita to share her research and readings with local residents during drawing workshops (as part of the Nuits des Forêts 2023 and the Partir en Livre festival), and workshops with schoolchildren (Lussac-les-Églises elementary school).
As part of the Partir en Livre festival, and at the invitation of the Réseau de lecture publique du Haut-Limousin en Marche, an exhibition of all the work produced during the artist's residency turned.