Kader Attia (born 30 December 1970) is an Algerian-French artist.

Early life

Attia was born in Dugny, France to Algerian parents and was raised in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. He studied at the '' l'école Duperré de Paris, l'école des arts appliqués La Massana de Barcelone'' and graduated from the '' Ecole nationale superieure des arts decoratifs''

, in 1998.

Work

Attia's work often examines

social injustice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has ofte ...

marginalized Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

communities and

postcolonialism Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...

. In 2016, Attia founded '' La Colonie'', a gallery near Paris' ''

Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (; ), officially Paris Nord, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station is served by trains that run between the capital and northern France via the Paris–Lille railway, as well ...

'' train station. In March 2020, ''La Colonie'' closed permanently due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In March 2021, Attia was announced as the curator for the 12th

Berlin Biennale The Berlin Biennale (full name: Berlin Biennale für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art) is a contemporary art exhibition, which has been held at various locations in Berlin, Germany, every two to three years since 1998. ...

. He is the first artist to curate the biennale since New-York based collective DIS, who presented the 9th edition in 2016. In November 2021, he had an exhibition entitled "On Silence" at the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

Collections

Attia's work is included in the permanent collections of: *

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, New York, * Sharjah Art Foundation, *

Tate Museum Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

, * ''

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

'', Paris, *

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is an art museum and exhibition space located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The museum was founded as the Boston Museum of Modern Art in 1936. Since then it has gone through multiple name chang ...

, * Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Awards

*In 2016, Attia won France's '' Prix Marcel Duchamp''. In 2018, he was awarded the

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

Prize. *In 2019, Attia was a member of the jury that selected Arthur Jafa as winner of the

Prince Pierre Foundation The Prince Pierre Foundation (Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco) was established by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in February 1966 to promote culture and the arts through the creation and the awarding of prizes. Prince Rainier III created the foun ...

's International Contemporary Art Prize.Arthur Jafa Wins $83,000 International Prize for Contemporary Art
''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'', 16 October 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Attia, Kader 1970 births 21st-century French male artists Artists from Paris Living people Algerian artists Algerian contemporary artists Algerian political artists French people of Algerian descent Decolonial artists