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Copyright and royalties for Ismaïl Bahri’s works are managed by ADAGP, Paris, since September 2024
Bio
Born in 1978 in Tunis, Tunisia / Lives and works between Paris and Tunis
Ismaïl Bahri uses video, drawing, sculpture and sound, with no one specialization. He positions himself as an observer to set up a device for capturing gestures and empirical experiments, paying attention to “what happens”. His work is interested in the meaning that emerges at the periphery of the gaze, in the presence of the surrounding world that emerges and reveals its presence.
His work has been exhibited internationally in institutions including the Centre Pompidou, Jeu de Paume, Museo Reina Sofía, Beirut Art Center, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, and IVAM Institut Valencià d’Art Modern. His films and videos have been presented at international festivals and platforms including the Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, FIDMarseille and Kunstenfestivaldesarts.
In 2023–2024, Ismaïl Bahri was a fellow at the Villa Medici (Académie de France à Rome), where he pursued research combining film, drawing and sculptural experimentation.
Solo exhibitions
2027 (Upcoming)
— Title to be announced, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal
— Title to be announced, Grey Noise Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2026 (Upcoming)
— Rewind, Le Creux de l’Enfer, Thiers, France
2022
— Films, Grey Noise Gallery, Dubai, UAE
— Digital, La Boîte, Tunis, Tunisia
2021
— Sans titre, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia
2019
— Invisible Concern, Le Forum, Hermès Foundation, Tokyo, Japan (Curator: Guillaume Désanges)
— Kusunoki, Nijō-jō, Kyoto, Japan (Curator: Mouna Mekouar)
2018
— Des gestes à peine déposés dans un paysage agité, La Verrière, Brussels, Belgium (Curator: Guillaume Désanges)
— Instrumentos, Centro Cultural Porto Seguro, São Paulo, Brazil
2017
— Ce qui demeure, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia
— Instruments, Jeu de Paume, Concorde, Paris, France (Curators: Marta Gili and Marie Bertran)
2015
— Blank Film, Les Filles du Calvaire Gallery, Paris, France
2014
— Sondes, Les Églises Contemporary Art Center, Chelles, France (Curator: Eric Degoutte)
— Sommeils, Espace Khiasma, Les Lilas, France (Curator: Olivier Marboeuf)
— Aflora, Alliance Française, Bogotá, Colombia
— Détail se dilate, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia
2012
— Précipités, Les Filles du Calvaire Gallery, Paris, France
Selected group exhibitions
2026
— Soleil Noir, Villa Medici, Rome, Italy (Curator: Morad Montazami)
— Loss Marginalia, Qattan Foundation, Ramallah, Palestine (Curator: Amin Alsaden)
— The Interludes and Transitions, Diriyah Biennale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Curators: Nora Razian and Sabih Ahmed)
— L’Envol des sirènes, Octave Cowbell, Metz, France
2025
— The Vertigo of the Images, TEA – Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Tenerife, Spain (Curator: Marta Dahó)
— Pierre et mer mêlées, MAC Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
— Sympnea, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (Curator: Camille Levy Sarfati)
— In Vivo, Le Creux de l’Enfer, Thiers, France
— Om acht uur?, RIB, Rotterdam, Netherlands (Curators: gerlach en koop)
2024
— Mode d’emploi, MAMCS – Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
— Thinking Like a Mountain, GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy
— Nos douleurs montées sur un soleil comme un cheval de course, Bir Lahjar, Tunis, Tunisia
— Chambre des échos, IAC Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes project, France (Curator: Justine François)
— Enghien Biennale 5, Enghien, Belgium
— A Più Voci, Villa Medici – French Academy in Rome, Italy
— Biennale Gherdëina 9: The Parliament of Marmots, Val Gardena, Italy (Curator: Lorenzo Giusti)
— Video from Dream City, Kanal – Centre Pompidou, Brussels, Belgium
— Atlas, Nébuleuses du Sphinx, MAC LAU, Quebec, Canada
— Notte Bianca, Villa Medici – French Academy in Rome, Italy
2023
— Machinations, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain (Curators: Pablo Allepuz, Manuel Borja-Villel, Iliana Fokianaki, Rafael García and Teresa Velázquez)
— Ni île, FRAC Normandie, Caen, France
2022
— Beyond a Certain Point There Was No Return, A Tale of a Tub, Rotterdam, Netherlands (Curator: Katia Krupennikova)
— Science Fictions (works from the IAC collection), Centre d’art Ugine, France
— Les Sentinelles (works from the CNAP collection), IMA Tourcoing, France
— À l’œil nu, Galerie Michel Journiac, Paris, France
— Back of My Hand, Carpintarias de São Lázaro, Lisbon, Portugal (Curator: Sarah Branco)
2021
— Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours, CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France (Curator: Sandra Patron)
— With a Hint of Adventure, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France
— Mediterraner, La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille, France
— From Seeing to Acting, Looiersgracht 60, Amsterdam, Netherlands
(Curator: Julian Ross)
2020
— Record of the Invisible, Le Grand Café, Saint-Nazaire, France
— Le Plan Libre, Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Romainville, France
— Le Cabaret du Néant, Château de Rentilly, France
— Oblique Strategies 1, Martine Aboucaya Gallery, Paris, France
— Oblique Strategies 2, Martine Aboucaya Gallery, Paris, France
2019
— De l’amitié, Marcelle Alix Gallery, Paris, France
— Touché!, Beirut Art Center, Beirut, Lebanon
— Persona Grata, MAC VAL Museum, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
— What a Dot Become, Akinci Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
— Parallel Crossings, STUK, Leuven, Belgium
2018
— Dénouement, Dazibao, Montreal, Canada
— À la lumière, FRAC Occitanie, France
2017
— Sans réserve, MAC VAL Museum, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
— Ghosting of Beings and Worlds, Grey Noise, Dubai, UAE
— La salud y sus metáforas, Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), Zapopan, Mexico
— Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE
— Be Aware, Record, FMAC, Geneva, Switzerland
2016
— Uprisings, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France (Curator: Georges Didi-Huberman)
— Incorporated!, Ateliers de Rennes – La Criée, Rennes, France (Curator: François Piron)
2015
— Là où commence le jour, LaM – Lille Métropole Musée d’art moderne, France (Curator: Marc Donnadieu)
— The Bamako Encounters, Bamako, Mali
— The Pen Moves Across the Earth, Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada
— Vernacularity, Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdańsk, Poland
— Art in the Chapels, Trinity Chapel, Cléguérec, France
2014
— Collective Collection, BBB art center, Toulouse, France
2013
— Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE (Curator: Yuko Hasegawa)
— La Fuerza de Coriolis, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile, Chile (Curator: Béatrice Josse)
— Le geste premier, BBB art center, Toulouse, France
— Sans matières ajoutées, CNEAI, Chatou, France
— L’Arbre de vie, Collège des Bernardins, Paris, France
— Mandrake a disparu, Espace Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Intimacies, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
— Art Paris, Les Filles du Calvaire Gallery, Paris, France
— The Acquisitions, Artothèque d’Angers, Angers, France
2012
— Benin Biennial, Centre Kora, Cotonou, Benin
— JF_JH (Liberty), Appartement 22, Rabat, Morocco
— Quand l’art déborde, Lab’Bel Group, Lons-le-Saunier, France
— Carthage Contemporary, Carthage Museum, Tunisia
— Point Fragile, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2011
— Intentions fragiles, Les Filles du Calvaire Gallery, Paris, France
— Lumière noire (Neue Kunst aus Frankreich), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany
— Working for Change, Spazio Punch, Venice, Italy
— Human Frames, KIT – Kunst-im-Tunnel, Düsseldorf, Germany
— After the Rage, Lo and Behold, Athens, Greece
— Paris Photo, Les Filles du Calvaire Gallery, Paris, France
— Frontières, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
2010
— Frontières, Centrale Électrique, Brussels, Belgium
— Reframing Reality, Museet for Samtidskunst, Roskilde, Denmark
— Fotografia Europea, Teatro Valli, Reggio Emilia, Italy
— Bamako Encounters, Cape Town National Gallery, South Africa
— Bamako Encounters, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
Selected film screenings
2026
— États généraux du documentaire, Lussas, France
— CICI – Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt
2024
— Gordian Knot, MoMA, New York, USA
— Festival de la Villa Medici, Villa Medici – French Academy in Rome, Italy
— Some Strings, La Compagnie, Marseille, France
2022
— Cinema Flux, Teatrino Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
2021
— Sur les bords, T2G – Théâtre de Gennevilliers, France
— Woche der Kritik, programme “See Through”, Berlin, Germany
— Film/Art: Wavelengths, Colgate University, USA
— Cinemigrante Film Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2020
— New York Film Festival (NYFF), Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, New York, USA (Curator: Aily Nash) - (Winner: Ammodo Tiger Short Competition)
— Gabès Cinéma Fen Festival, Gabès, Tunisia
— Foyer, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, France
— IndieLisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
— Punto de Vista, Gijón, Spain
— El Kazma, Gabès, Tunisia
— International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Rotterdam, Netherlands
2019
— FOYER, Gallery 9, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, EUA
2018
— SOURCE / ORIENTATIONS / FOYER, Friche Belle de Mai, Marseilles, France
— L’invitation aux musées Week-end, CND Pantin, France
— Carte blanche à L’Agence du court métrage, Cinéma 1 - Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
— SCAM-SACD : Expérimental Cinema, Cinema Aventures, Brussels, Belgium
— «Walter Benjamin à Marseille» / Festival Image de Ville, Videodrome 2, Marseille, France
— Kunstenfestival des arts, Bruxelles, Belgique
— Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Japan
— CARTE BLANCHE À ISMAÏL BAHRI, Cyclorama, Lyon, France
— BEYOND WHAT THE CAMERA CAN SEE, The Mosaic Rooms, London, Great Britain
2017
— MIEFF Festival, Moscow, Russia
— VIDEOEX Experimentalfilm & Video Festival, Zürich, Switzerland
— FILMADRID Festival Internacional de Cine, Madrid, Spain
— IFF Jeonju International Film Festival, Seoul, Korea
— BIEFF Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival, Bucarest, Romania
— PUNTO DE VISTA, Navarra, Spain
— IFFR, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Holland
— COURTISANE, Ghent, Belgium
2016
— TRNSCINEMA, Lima, Peru
— AFLAM Cinémas Arabes, Marseille, France
— MAGHREB DES FILMS, Paris, France
— KASSEL DOKFEST Film festival, Kassel, Germany
— FIAC / PLATFORM, Palais de la découverte, Paris, France
— TYFF, Toronto Film Festival, «Wavelengths» section, Toronto, Canada
— NYFF, New-York Film Festival, « Projections », Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, New York, USA
— FID Marseille, «Ecrans Parallèles», Marseille, France
— COTE COURT, «Première image», Pantin, France
— PREMIERE IMAGE, Cinéma Nouvel Odéon, Paris
— LA VILLE AU CORPS, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris
— THE INVISIBLE SCENT OF HISTORY, Thurgood Marshall Ballroom West, Washington DC, USA
2014
— NYFF, New-York Film Festival, « Projection », Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, New York, USA
— MEDIA CITY film festival, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
— ALFILM, Berlin, Germany
2013
— CINEPHEMERE, FIAC, Jardins des Tuileries, Paris, France
— FIDMARSEILLE, Parallels screens, Marseille, France
— LES LIGNES DE GESTE, Wendel Auditorium, Centre Pompidou Metz, France
— VIDEOGRAPHIES 50, Sauvenière cinema, Liège, Belgium
— JAPAN MEDIA FESTIVAL, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
2012
— SUNDAY’S SCREENING, Les filles du calvaire gallery, Paris, France
— L’EAU ET LES REFLETS DU MONDE, Le Collège des Bernardins, Paris, France
— RISING IMAGES, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
2011
— VIDEO.IT, Fondation Mario Merz, Turin, Italy
— BUSAN INTERNATIONAL VIDEO ART, Busan, South Corea
— VIDEO TRANSITIO, Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico, Mexico
— RESISTANCE[S] III, Cinematheque of Tangier, Marocco
— LA VIDEOTHEQUE, ENSBA, Paris, France
2010
— RESISTANCE(S) III, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
— RESISTANCE(S) III, British Film Institute, London, Great Britain
— RESISTANCE(S) III, Fondazione Mario Merz, Torino, Italy
— SUNDAY’S SCREENING 3, Les filles du calvaire gallery, Paris, France
— VIDEOFORMES, Clermont-Ferrand, France
— ARAB SHORTS, Goethe-Institut du Cairo, Egypt
— FIAV VIDEO FESTIVAL, Casablanca, Marocco
— SUPERMEGADROPS 6, CRAC Centro Ricerca Arte Contemporanea, Cremona, Italy
Selected biennials
— Diriyah Biennale, Saudi Arabia, 2026
— Sharjah Biennial, UAE, 2017
— Sharjah Biennial, UAE, 2013
— Ateliers de Rennes – Biennale d’art contemporain, France, 2016
— Rencontres de Bamako – African Biennale of Photography, Mali, 2015
— Rencontres de Bamako – African Biennale of Photography, Mali, 2010
Collections
— Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
— IAC – Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbanne, France
— MAC VAL Museum, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
— FRAC Lorraine, France
— FRAC Grand Large, France
— Caldic Collectie, Netherlands
— CNAP – Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris, France
— Lazaar Foundation, London, United Kingdom
— Artothèque d’Angers, France
— Artothèque du Limousin, France
— Collection de la Ville de Lyon, France
— Département de Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Residencies
— 2023–2024 : Fellow at Villa Medici (Académie de France à Rome), Rome, Italy
— June 2026 : Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (Verso)
— January 2025 : Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (Resto)
— October 2024 : La Maison Flottante, Normandy, France
— May 2015 : Sémaphore du Créac’h, Ouessant Island, France
— January-March 2015 : Artistes en résidence, Clermont-Ferrand, France
— March 2014 : Alliance Française, Bogotá, Colombia
— January 2013 : January 2014 — Fabrique Phantom, Paris, France
— June 2012 : Appartement 22, Rabat, Morocco
— August 2010-December 2011 : Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France