Yto Barrada chosen to represent France at the Venice Biennale in 2026

She is a Franco-Moroccan artist with a very international profile who was selected to represent France at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, in a completely renovated pavilion. The jury chaired by Claire Le Restif (director of the Contemporary Art Center of Ivry – Crédac), chose Yto Barrada “ for its multidisciplinary practice which brings together diverse artistic and social communities in search of a new utopia. Iconoclastic researcher, total artist without borders, Yto Barrada reinvents “social sculpture” in the light of alternative pedagogies and transforms the canons of modernism into a plural garden. From Paris to Tangier, via New York, she draws a unique map that collects new voices – invisible, fragile, historical or forgotten – to transmit their stories ».

The choice of the selection commission organized by the French Institute and therefore chaired by Claire Le Restif was chosen by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and by the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati. It is undoubtedly not insignificant that the choice of the artist comes against a backdrop of diplomatic warming between France and Morocco…

Born in 1971 in Paris, Yto Barrada lives and works between New York and Tangier. She studied history and political science at the Sorbonne, then photography in New York. For a quarter of a century, “ she deploys a multidisciplinary practice – installation, film, photography, sculpture, textile and publishing – through long-term projects which address questions as diverse as the place of play in alternative pedagogies, the instrumentalization of botany in urban policies, international trafficking in dinosaur fossils, colonial anthropology, Pan-Africanism or cultural policies during the Cold War », Specifies the French Institute, which manages the national pavilion.

This approach is large-scale. “ Simultaneously exploring cultural facts, natural processes and historical stories, Yto Barrada's work pays particular attention to the transmission of local know-how, the circulation of aesthetic forms and strategies of social disobedience. Highlighting the idea of ​​community, artistic kinship and collaboration with friends and family, they often include a rereading of modernist artistic avant-gardes », Adds the French Institute.

For Yto Barrada, the Venice Biennale will resemble a form of consecration after a rich career and significant international recognition. Indeed, his work has been the subject of monographic exhibitions particularly in Europe and the United States: at the Jeu de Paume in Paris (2006); at the Renaissance Society, Chicago (2011); at the Tate Modern, London (2011); at the Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis (2013); at Carré d’Art, in Nîmes (2015); at the Barbican Centre, London (2018); at MASS MoCA North Adams, Massachusetts (2021); at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2021); at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (2022); at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany (2023); at Césure – Urban Plateau as part of the Autumn Festival (2023); finally at MoMA PS1 in New York (2024), among others.

She was nominated for the 2016 Marcel Duchamp Prize organized by Adiaf. The artist has also participated in numerous biennials, including those of Venice (2007, 2011), Sharjah (2011), Istanbul (2013), Marrakech (2016), Gwangju (2018) and Whitney (2022). His works have been included in many public collections around the world, notably those of the Center Pompidou (Paris), the MoMA (New York), the Tate Modern (London), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Reina Sofia ( Madrid), Mathaf (Doha) and Mumok (Vienna)… The artist is represented by the Polaris gallery in Paris, Sfeir-Semler in Beirut and Hamburg, and Pace in London.