Agadir: Salam Cinema soon to become a cultural hub

The project goes beyond simply upgrading an old building. With a budget of more than 22 million dirhams, the ambition is to transform Salam into a multifunctional cultural hub. The program includes the interior layout of the building, but also the treatment of its exterior surroundings. In the end, that is by the end of 2026, the site will accommodate a 317-seat projection hall, creation spaces, dressing rooms, workshops, an archives room, administrative offices, a control room, as well as a literary café.

For Agadir, the stakes are both heritage-related and urban. Salam Cinema is not just any building. Erected in the 1950s, it belongs to the city’s collective memory. Its resistance to the earthquake gave it a singular status in local history, before years of abandonment and real estate pressure weakened its future. Its safeguarding owes much to the mobilization of associative and cultural actors, then to its inclusion in the inventory of architectural heritage. The decisive turning point came with its donation to the municipality, which opened the way to its requalification.

This operation fits into a broader vision of the transformation that downtown has undergone. The idea is to strengthen a city center where culture, commerce, and mobility support each other. From this perspective, Salam is not meant to be only restored. It must become a living place again, capable of generating foot traffic, extending the time spent downtown, and creating new momentum around cultural activities.

The real challenge will come afterward. For a cultural facility is judged not only by the quality of its rehabilitation but also by its ability to find a rhythm, an audience, and a programming schedule. For Agadir, the rebirth of Salam Cinema can become much more than a heritage project: a strong signal about how the city today seeks to make its heritage a lever for attractiveness and urban vitality.