Yto Barrada is a Franco-Moroccan artist (b. Paris 1971) currently living in Tangier and New York. She studied History and Political Science at Sorbonne Université in Paris and Photography at the International Center of Photography in New York. Her approach to art is multidisciplinary, utilizing photography, film, installation, and sculpture to explore sociopolitical, historical, and cultural issues – especially those related to Morocco, the country where she was raised. Throughout her prolific body of work, Barrada draws on the performativity of archives and government interventions to “explore strategies of survival – of resistance and constraint.”[1] In 2006, Barrada led the group that transformed the historic 1930s Cinéma Rif into the Cinémathèque de Tanger, a cultural center and archive, where she is also the director.
Her work often uses documentary photography and narrative and experimental film, while also taking shape in installations and sculptures that combine found objects and manufactured elements. Her interest in political resistance movements stems from her research on colonialism, migration, and urban modernization, which she approaches through an intimate look at the day-to-day lives of communities affected by these phenomena. A notable example of her work is the photographic series A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project (1998–2004), which documents life in Tangier, a city marked by its strategic location on the Strait of Gibraltar and continual migratory tensions.
Barrada’s works have been exhibited at numerous institutions and museums, including the Tate Modern (London, UK, 2011), MoMA (New York, USA, 2021), and MASS MoCA (North Adams, USA, 2021). It is also held in major public and private collections, including the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, France), Pinault Collection (Venice, Italy), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA), and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA). During her career, Barrada has received several awards and honors, including the Deutsche Guggenheim Artist of the Year (2011), the Abraaj Group Art Prize (2015), and the Mario Merz Prize (2022).
[1] Cited in the press release for Yto Barrada: The Dye Garden (jointly organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art and the American Academy in Rome) https://www.aarome.org/it/eventi/yto-barrada-dye-garden-0.
Yto Barrada is a Franco-Moroccan artist (b. Paris 1971) currently living in Tangier and New York. She studied History and Political Science at Sorbonne Université in Paris and Photography at the International Center of Photography in New York. Her approach to art is multidisciplinary, utilizing photography, film, installation, and sculpture to explore sociopolitical, historical, and cultural issues – especially those related to Morocco, the country where she was raised. Throughout her prolific body of work, Barrada draws on the performativity of archives and government interventions to “explore strategies of survival – of resistance and constraint.”[1] In 2006, Barrada led the group that transformed the historic 1930s Cinéma Rif into the Cinémathèque de Tanger, a cultural center and archive, where she is also the director.
Her work often uses documentary photography and narrative and experimental film, while also taking shape in installations and sculptures that combine found objects and manufactured elements. Her interest in political resistance movements stems from her research on colonialism, migration, and urban modernization, which she approaches through an intimate look at the day-to-day lives of communities affected by these phenomena. A notable example of her work is the photographic series A Life Full of Holes: The Strait Project (1998–2004), which documents life in Tangier, a city marked by its strategic location on the Strait of Gibraltar and continual migratory tensions.
Barrada’s works have been exhibited at numerous institutions and museums, including the Tate Modern (London, UK, 2011), MoMA (New York, USA, 2021), and MASS MoCA (North Adams, USA, 2021). It is also held in major public and private collections, including the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, France), Pinault Collection (Venice, Italy), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA), and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA). During her career, Barrada has received several awards and honors, including the Deutsche Guggenheim Artist of the Year (2011), the Abraaj Group Art Prize (2015), and the Mario Merz Prize (2022).
[1] Cited in the press release for Yto Barrada: The Dye Garden (jointly organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art and the American Academy in Rome) https://www.aarome.org/it/eventi/yto-barrada-dye-garden-0.