M'hammed Kilito

Kilito will receive a $2000 cash prize to continue working on "Before it’s gone," an ongoing project that highlights the multidimensional issues of oasis degradation in Morocco and its impact on its inhabitants. This grant is an opportunity for up to 5 Visura members who identify as visual artists, journalists and/or storytellers working on self-funded long term projects. The theme for this year’s grant is focused on visual stories about climate change, environmental justice, gender equality, racial justice, and human rights.  

Based in Rabat, Morocco, Kilito's work focuses on capturing narratives that help understand the relationship between groups or individuals and their environments, by covering issues related to cultural identity, the sociology of work and climate change. His hope with this visual project is to draw attention to this situation by alerting public opinion, policy makers, and concerned organizations. He also wants to protect the ancestral heritage of the nomadic culture in Morocco, as well as the preservation of the oasis ecosystem.

"I decided to work on this project to highlight these multiple concerns rarely covered by the media and largely unknown to the general public," Kilito wrote in his proposal. "My research also aims to better understand different approaches, practices, and programs applied to the valorization, conservation, and sustainable development of heritage sites such as the oasis, which are known to be environmentally sensitive."  

Rachel Moore, Executive Director at The Current described Kilito as a highly talented photographer and visual storyteller who is producing critical work. "His series, 'Before it's gone', sheds perspective on a subject that is ecologically and geographically specific to Morocco,"she says, "yet transcends this specificity and importance of documenting locality by incorporating global themes of human relationships and their impact on and response to the climate crisis worldwide." 

For the duration of 2022, The Current and Visura partnered in an effort to enhance the human experience through the visual arts. Together, the art center and media tech startup will award an annual residency, announce the recipients of this year’s 2022 Visura Grant for Visual Journalists, and collaborate in a group exhibition. The partnership was in part also made possible with the support of an anonymous donor, who in 2022 made a generous contribution to The Current.