OFFICE HOURS 001: Othman Lazraq

Founder of MACAAL, collector of stories, and a man making Marrakech more magnetic

In our 20s, my best friend and I had a system: book 47F aisle and window, manifest that no one took the middle, and voilà — economy turned into our personal first-class pod. We’d gab non-stop until the dinner trays came clattering down, drink too much red wine, pop a Zanzi, and wake up in Paris like nothing happened. We called it office hours — our favorite time to catch up, spill, scheme, and dream, midair.

So, in the spirit of those airborne therapy sessions, I’m kicking off this new series: a space to sit down with people I admire, people I love, and people I’m just wildly curious about. Same energy — more space and better wine.

First up:

Othman Lazraq, founder and president of MACAAL (Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden) in Marrakech — a museum that feels as much like a love letter to the continent as it does a living, breathing space for creative conversation.

📷 Karim Hapette

We’ve been best friends for 15ish years and I was lucky enough to get “stuck” in Casablanca and Marrakech during COVID. If you know Othman, you know just how lucky that was — he’s the ultimate host, an encyclopaedic foodie, and has one of the most beautiful, thoughtful art collections I’ve ever seen.

Here’s what we talked about — breakfast (or lack there of) with a side of nostalgia, travel (obv) and what art he’s obsessed with RN