Yto Barrada

Yto Barrada, born in 1971, studied history and political science at the Sorbonne and photography in New York. A multidisciplinary artist, her practice draws on archives, oral traditions, and vernacular narratives to expose the fictions that dominate official history.

In 1998, she participates in a Varan workshop on documentary filmmaking, where she directed the short film Ne me quittez pas.

Her work has been exhibited at the Tate Modern (London), MoMA (New York), the Renaissance Society (Chicago), Witte de With (Rotterdam), Haus der Kunst (Munich), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Whitechapel Gallery (London), and the Venice Biennale (2007 and 2011).

She was named Artist of the Year by Deutsche Bank (2011), following which her exhibition *Riffs* toured extensively. Barrada is also the founder and director of the Cinémathèque de Tanger and The Mothership in Tangier. JRP Ringier published a monograph of her work in 2013. She was awarded the 2013–2014 Photography Research Fellowship from the Peabody Museum (Harvard University) and received the Abraaj Prize in 2015.

In 2024, the Institut Français announced that Yto Barrada will represent France at the Venice Art Biennale in 2026.

Yto Barrada’s official website

© Benoît Peverelli