Art curator Vanessa Branson's home and hotel in Marrakech

Vanessa's daughter Florence and son Ivo have been helping out at El Fenn. Her mother, Eve, also makes an appearance now and again, and since 2005 has been working in Morocco with the Eve Branson Foundation, which helps to improve the living standards of the Berber communities in the Atlas Mountains.

El Fenn is home to part of Vanessa's extensive collection of art, another ongoing passion and one that has led to an even closer involvement in the creative community of Marrakech and the birth of the Marrakech Biennale. Art has played an important part in Vanessa's life for many years. She and her brother Richard and their sister Lindy, who is an artist, grew up in the Home Counties with parents who encouraged their children - all of whom are dyslexic - to express themselves freely. At the same time, the whole family embraced an entrepreneurial approach to life. 'We were surrounded by this feeling of having to do it for yourself,' says Vanessa. 'The strong message that we were given as kids was that we mattered as individuals. If we were upset by something that the government was doing, for instance, my mother would tell us to write to them and let them know.'

Vanessa studied history of art and initially worked as a picture framer in London. Later, she began painting herself and opened an art gallery just off the Portobello Road in 1986, showing work by a range of international artists who interested her, including the acclaimed South African William Kentridge. 'It seems extraordinary now, but back then there were very few people in London showing work by contemporary foreign artists,' says Vanessa. 'When you have a gallery you start collecting by default, when people don't pay for something or when you know that an artist you like can't pay their rent. So my collecting began in a haphazard way and was never that focused. If I had spare cash, I bought something and it was mostly work by artists and photographers who I've known personally.'

Artwork inhabits every wall of El Fenn and Vanessa's home in Holland Park, where she shares an 1840s town house on the edge of a picturesque garden square with Florence and Ivo, and her two other children Noah and Louis. After closing her gallery, she collaborated on a number of art projects with friends in the art world, such as adviser Prue O'Day, before launching the Marrakech Biennale back in 2004. 'I was so fond of all the people that I had been working with in Marrakech and loved the idea of having an art festival in which we could all gather together and discuss ideas through the arts. I remember thinking, who can I find to get this going? Who would be in a perfect position to start an arts festival in Morocco? Then I realised that it would have to be me.'

Since then, the Biennale has gone from strength to strength. The latest edition featured around 60 artists in the official programme, but as many as 500 in total, including associated events and exhibitions. Among the many venues are some remarkable and picturesque settings, such as the old water cisterns and cellars of the Koutoubia Mosque, as well as the historic surroundings of El Badi and El Bahia palaces.

Vanessa has passed the presidency of the Biennale along to her friend, architect Amine Kabbaj, who she has known since he helped her with the initial restoration of El Fenn. But she remains closely involved and continues to support the Biennale; this year's edition was dedicated to the memory of a friend, photographer Leila Alaoui, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Burkina Faso.

At the same time, Vanessa's entrepreneurial spirit shows no sign of slowing down. She has been devoting much time and energy to Eilean Shona, the Scottish island she co-owns with former partner Robert Devereux, which is home to rental cottages (featured in the August 2015 issue of House & Garden). In September, Shona Retreats, six-day breaks focusing on painting, writing and mindfulness, will be launched. It is another setting close to Vanessa's heart and a place - along with Richard's Necker Island - where the Branson family can gather. 'We have 20-odd beds at Shona, almost the equivalent of a hotel,' says Vanessa. 'But it's a different form of escapism than Marrakech - no shopping, no people. We see a lot of each other as a family, and are lucky to have these special places to be together.'