Top Moroccan artists have responded to appeals by the government for donations to victims of the devastating earthquake that hit the country last week by organising auction sales to raise funds.

The country’s most prominent art collector specializing in renewable energy, Youssef Bennani was the first to heed the call when he staged an auction to raise much-needed funds for the quake victims.

The collector organized a special art auction that took place on Saturday, where all of the proceeds went to the victims of the earthquake, through an NGO by the name of JOOD.

The Casablanca-based art collector told journalists that he was combining his passion for art and his ambition to help raise money for the victims.

“The fundraiser is a spontaneous initiative because I wanted to participate in the national effort to provide my help to those who suffered from the earthquake,” Bennani said.

He added that he had used his connections with various artists in the country to get them to donate an art piece each for the auction held Saturday.

“Since what was most lacking at the local NGO level was funds, I decided to organize an art auction to raise funds for JOOD, an NGO that is doing a very good and efficient job on the ground.

“I am passionate about art and I know many artists who are always willing to donate one of their artworks for a good cause,” he said.

“The response from artists willing to donate an art piece free of charge has been overwhelmingly positive. All the artists accepted right away to donate one of their artworks to help JOOD in their actions.

“Many artists are from Morocco but there are also artists from Ivory Coast and France that wanted to help because of their love of Morocco and its people,” he explained.

Another artist, who donated an art work to Bennani’s fundraiser was Chama Chraibi, a Moroccan contemporary visual artist.

Chraibi said he decided to participate in the initiative “to help raise funds in any way I can for JOOD NGO, who are doing incredible work in emergency aid and support for the victims of this devastating earthquake.”

Casablanca-based Youssef Douieb, who specializes in Abstract Expression and was among the artists who participated in the auction, explained why he wanted to participate in the fundraising effort.

“In the past, art had the purpose of painting an emphatic picture of the lives of those with power, leaders such as kings, popes, etc; and that can still be the case.

“Spreading happiness while Morocco navigates an unprecedented tragedy means donating works of art and raising money for the victims of the earthquake,” he said.