about

Bio

Born in 1978 in Tunis, Tunisia / Lives and works between Paris and Tunis

Ismaïl Bahri is an Artist and Associate Professor (Maître de conférence) in Visual Arts, Université Paris 8 Vincennes–Saint-Denis. He 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, Espace Khiasma, 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).

Solo exhibitions 

2027 (forthcoming)
— Title to come, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal
— Title to come, Grey Noise Gallery, Dubai, UAE

2026
— Rewind, Le Creux de l’Enfer, Thiers, France

2022
— Films, Grey Noise Gallery, Dubai, UAE
— Digital, La Boîte, Tunis, Tunisia

2021
— Untitled, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia

2019
— Invisible Concern, Le Forum, Fondation Hermès, Tokyo, Japan
— Kusunoki, Nijo-jo Castle, Kyoto, Japan

2018
— Gestures Barely Deposited in a Restless Landscape, La Verrière, Fondation Hermès, Brussels, Belgium
— Instrumentos, Centro Cultural Porto Seguro, São Paulo, Brazil

2017
— Instruments, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
— What Remains, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia

2015
— Film à blanc, Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris, France
— Repos, Chapelle de la Trinité, Cléguérec, France

2014
— Sondes, Les Églises Contemporary Art Centre, Chelles, France
— Sommeils, Espace Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Affleure, Alliance Française, Bogotá, Colombia
— Détail se dilate, Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia

2012
— Précipités, Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris, France

Selected group exhibitions

2026
— (Anti)fragile, Dakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
— Black Sun / Soleil Noir, Villa Medici, Rome, Italy
— Loss Marginalia, Qattan Foundation, Ramallah, Palestine
— In Interludes and Transitions, Diriyah Biennale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
— Déjà Vu, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
— L’envol des sirènes, Octave Cowbell, Metz, France

2025
— The Vertigo of the Images, TEA – Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
— Pierre et mer mêlées – Un archipel imaginaire des présences en mouvement, MAC Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
— Là où la mer sépare, là où les images relient, Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
— Sympnea, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal
— In Vivo, Le Creux de l’Enfer, Thiers, France
— Om acht uur? Dan word ik wakker, RIB, Rotterdam, Netherlands

2024
— Mode d’emploi, MAMCS – Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg, France
— The Parliament of Marmots, GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy
— Biennale Gherdëina 9, Val Gardena, Italy
— A Più Voci / Fellows’ Exhibition, Villa Medici – French Academy in Rome, Italy
— Atlas, Nébuleuses du Sphinx, MAC LAU, Québec, Canada
— Chambre des échos, IAC – Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbanne, France
— Enghien Biennale 5, Enghien, Belgium
— Nos douleurs montées sur un soleil comme un cheval de course, Bir Lahjar, Tunis, Tunisia
— Video from Dream City, Kanal – Centre Pompidou, Brussels, Belgium

2023
— Machinations, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
— Ni île, FRAC Normandie, Caen, France

2022
— Beyond a Certain Point There Was No Return, A Tale of a Tub, Rotterdam, Netherlands
— Science Fictions, Centre d’art contemporain d’Ugine, France
— Les Sentinelles, IMA – Institut du Monde Arabe, Tourcoing, France
— À l’œil nu, Galerie Michel Journiac, Paris, France
— Back of My Hand, Carpintarias de São Lázaro, Lisbon, Portugal

2021
— Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours, CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
— 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

2020
— Chroniques de l’invisible / 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, Galerie Martine Aboucaya, Paris, France
— Was machen Sie um zwei? Ich schlafe., GAK – Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst, Bremen, Germany

2019
— De l’amitié, Marcelle Alix Gallery, Paris, France
— Touché! (Gesture, Movement, Action), Beirut Art Center, Beirut, Lebanon
— Persona Grata, MAC VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
— What Can a Dot Become?, Akinci Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
— Parallel Crossings, STUK, Leuven, Belgium
— Ce sont les îles qui se déplacent, Passerelle, Centre d’art contemporain, Brest, France

2018
— Inhabiting the Mediterranean, IVAM – Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
— L’invitation aux musées – Week-end #2, Centre national de la danse, Pantin, France
— Ismaïl Bahri + James Benning + Ralitsa Doncheva + Miriam Sampaio, Dazibao, Montreal, Canada
— À la lumière, FRAC Occitanie, Montpellier, France

2017
— Uprisings, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montreal, Canada
— Sans réserve, MAC VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
— Ghosting of Beings and Worlds, Grey Noise, Dubai, UAE
— La salud y sus metáforas, Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Zapopan, Mexico
— Be Aware, Record, FMAC, Geneva, Switzerland

2016
— Uprisings, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
— Incorporated!, Ateliers de Rennes – La Criée, Rennes, France
— do it, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE

2015
— Là où commence le jour, LaM – Lille Métropole Musée d’art moderne, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France
— The Pen Moves Across the Earth, Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada
— Vernacularity, Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdańsk, Poland
— Art in the Chapels, Chapelle de la Trinité, Cléguérec, France

2014
— Collective Collection, BBB centre d’art, Toulouse, France

2013
— La Fuerza de Coriolis, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile, Chile
— Le geste premier, BBB centre d’art, 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
— Les Acquisitions, Artothèque d’Angers, Angers, France
— Les lignes du geste, FRAC Lorraine / Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France

2012
— Inventer le monde : l’artiste citoyen, Biennale Bénin 2012, Centre Kora, Cotonou, Benin
— JF_JH Libertés, Appartement 22, Rabat, Morocco
— Au lait ! Quand l’art déborde, Maison de La Vache qui rit / Lab’Bel, Lons-le-Saunier, France
— Chkoun Ahna, Musée national de Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia
— Le Corps découvert, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
— 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 / Appartement 22, Rabat, Morocco
— Human Frames, KIT – Kunst-im-Tunnel, Düsseldorf, Germany
— After the Rage, Lo and Behold, Athens, Greece
— Contours, Galerie Le Violon Bleu, Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunisia
— Art Proxime, La Fabrique, Toulouse, France
— Frontières, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
— Art Brussels, Les Filles du Calvaire Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

2010
— Fotografia Europea, Teatro Valli, Reggio Emilia, Italy
— Frontières, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
— Frontières, Cape Town National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
— Frontières, Institut Français de Fès, Fès, Morocco
— Frontières, Centrale Électrique, Brussels, Belgium
— Jeune Création 2010, Le Centquatre, Paris, France
— Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkey

Selected film screenings

2026
— États généraux du film documentaire, Lussas, France
— CICI – Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt
— Bozar – Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

2025
— Foyer / In Waterde, Le Carré de Baudouin, Paris, France

2024
— Some Strings, La Compagnie, Marseille, France
— Some Strings #2, Doclisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

2023
— Gordian Knot, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
— Villa Medici Film Festival, Villa Medici – French Academy in Rome, Italy

2022
— Cinema Flux, Teatrino di 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, Hamilton, USA
— Cinemigrante Film Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2020
— New York Film Festival (NYFF), Projections, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, New York, USA
— Gabès Cinéma Fen, 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
— Rendez-vous à Saint-Briac, Finis Terrae, France
— On Ouessant Island, Finis Terrae, France

2019
— Foyer, Gallery 9, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE

2018
— Source / Orientations / Foyer, La Friche La Belle de Mai, Marseille, France
— L’Invitation aux musées – Week-end, Centre national de la danse, Pantin, France
— Carte blanche à L’Agence du court métrage, Cinéma 1 – Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
— SCAM-SACD: Experimental Cinema, Cinema Aventure, Brussels, Belgium
— Walter Benjamin à Marseille, Festival Image de Ville, Videodrome 2, Marseille, France
— Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels, Belgium
— Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
— Carte blanche à Ismaïl Bahri, Cyclorama, Lyon, France
— Beyond What the Camera Can See, The Mosaic Rooms, London, United Kingdom
— Foyer, Northwest Film Center, Portland, USA
— Foyer, Cinema Aventure, Brussels, Belgium

2017
— Foyer, Moscow International Experimental Film Festival (MIEFF), Moscow, Russia
— Foyer, FILMADRID International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain
— Foyer, Videoex Experimental Film & Video Festival, Zurich, Switzerland
— Foyer, Jeonju International Film Festival, Jeonju, South Korea
— Foyer, BIEFF – Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival, Bucharest, Romania
— Foyer, Punto de Vista International Documentary Film Festival, Navarra, Spain
— Foyer, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Rotterdam, Netherlands
— Foyer, Courtisane Festival, Ghent, Belgium
— Foyer, 25 FPS, Zagreb, Croatia
— Foyer, Festival de Cine Radical, Bolivia
— Foyer, Festival de cinéma de Douarnenez, France
— Foyer, Un festival c’est trop court, Nice, France
— Foyer, Dream City Festival, Tunis, Tunisia
— Foyer, Premiers Gestes, Alexandria / Tunis
— Foyer, Premiers Gestes à Beyrouth, Beirut, Lebanon
— Foyer, Festival Travelling, Rennes, France
— Foyer, European Media Art Festival, Osnabrück, Germany
— Foyer, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, Milwaukee, USA
— Foyer, FCAT – Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa-Tánger, Spain / Morocco
— Foyer, Video Power, Maastricht, Netherlands
— Foyer, Hamburg International Short Film Festival, Hamburg, Germany
— Foyer, Zaywa – Cairo Cinema Days, Cairo, Egypt
— Foyer, Human Resources, Los Angeles, USA
— Foyer, Warehouse, Berlin, Germany
— Foyer, Kinemathek, Karlsruhe, Germany
— Foyer, Northwest Film Center, Portland, USA
— Foyer, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
— Foyer, Amherst College, Massachusetts, USA
— Foyer, Institut Français de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
— Foyer, MK2 Beaubourg, Paris, France

2016
— Foyer, Transcinema Festival of Non-Fiction, Lima, Peru
— Foyer, Les Rencontres du Cinéma Arabe, Marseille, France
— Foyer, Maghreb des Films, Paris, France
— Foyer, Kassel Dokfest, Kassel, Germany
— Foyer, New York Film Festival, Projections, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, New York, USA
— Foyer, Toronto International Film Festival, Wavelengths, Toronto, Canada
— Foyer, FIDMarseille, Écrans Parallèles, Marseille, France
— Foyer, Côté Court, Première Image, Pantin, France
— Foyer, Première Image, Cinéma Nouvel Odéon, Paris, France
— Foyer, La Ville au corps, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris, France
— The Invisible Scent of History, Thurgood Marshall Ballroom West, Washington, DC, USA
— Foyer, Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
— Foyer, Institut Français de Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco

2015
— Foyer, Festival International du Film Méditerranéen / Cinemed, Montpellier, France
— Foyer, Instants Chavirés, Montreuil, France

2014
— Film, New York Film Festival, Projections, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, New York, USA
— Media City Film Festival, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
— ALFILM – Arabisches Filmfestival Berlin, Berlin, Germany

2013
— Orientations, Cinéphémère, FIAC, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
— Orientations, FIDMarseille, Parallel Screens, Marseille, France
— Les lignes du geste, Wendel Auditorium, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France
— Videographies 50, Cinéma Sauvenière, Liège, Belgium
— Japan Media Arts Festival, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
— Orientations, FIDMarseille / FIDCampus, Marseille, France

2012
— Sunday’s Screening, Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris, France
— L’eau et les reflets du monde, Collège des Bernardins, Paris, France
— Rising Images, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

2011
— VIDEO.IT, Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy
— Busan International Video Art Festival, Busan, South Korea
— Video Transito, Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico
— Resistance[s] III, Cinémathèque de Tanger, Tangier, Morocco
— La Vidéothèque, École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France

2010
— Resistance[s] III, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
— Resistance[s] III, British Film Institute, London, United Kingdom
— Resistance[s] III, Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy
— Sunday’s Screening 3, Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris, France
— Videoformes, Clermont-Ferrand, France
— Arab Shorts, Goethe-Institut, Cairo, Egypt
— FIAV Video Festival, Casablanca, Morocco
— Supermegadrops 6, CRAC – Centro Ricerca Arte Contemporanea, Cremona, Italy

Biennials

— Dakar Biennale, Senegal, 2026
— Diriyah Biennale, Saudi Arabia, 2026
— Biennale Gherdëina 9: The Parliament of Marmots, Val Gardena, Italy, 2024
— 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

Awards / Prizes

— 2020 : Ammodo Tiger Short Award, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), for Apparition, Netherlands
— 2017 : Grand Prix, 25 FPS International Experimental Film and Video Festival, Zagreb, for Foyer, Croatia
— 2017 : Best Short Film Award, Punto de Vista International Documentary Film Festival, Pamplona, for Foyer, Spain
— 2017 : Grand Prix, Internationales KurzFilmFestival Hamburg, for Foyer, Germany
— 2017 : Best Picture Award, FILMADRID International Film Festival, for Foyer, Spain
— 2017 : Best Experimental Film, Moscow International Experimental Film Festival, for Foyer, Russia

Workshops / Masterclasses

2025
— Workshop, École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD), Paris, France

2023
— Masterclass, Gabès Cinéma Fen, Gabès, Tunisia

2022
— Artistic Workshop, ACF Academy / African Culture Fund, 32 BIS, Tunis, Tunisia

2021
— Workshop, Institut supérieur des Beaux-Arts de Besançon (ISBA), Besançon, France — research around the notion of “intercessor objects”, based on Foyer

2020
— Workshop, Villa Arson, Nice, France — Improvisation / Indétermination, 17–20 February

2018
— Workshop, Experiências e capturas, Espaço Cultural Porto Seguro, São Paulo, Brazil, 16–20 July

2014
— Presentation and discussion with students, École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (ENSBA), Paris, France — presentation of the Fabrique Phantom residency and screening of Orientations, Dénouement, Ligne and Film

2011
— Presentation and discussion with artists, École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (ENSBA), Paris, France — La Vidéothèque

Lectures / Talks / Conversations

2026
— Conference / Meeting, Collection Lambert, Avignon, France
— Lecture, École Nationale d’Architecture et de Management (ENAMC), Dakar, Senegal

2025
— Seminar, Voir l’Histoire ?, Master Paris Photographie 8, INHA, Paris, France

2024
— Artist Meeting, La Maison Flottante / cneai =, Poses, France

2023
— Public Presentation, Notte Bianca / Nuit Blanche, Villa Medici, Rome, Italy

2022
— Conversation with Charbel-joseph H. Boutros, La Criée, Rennes, France

2021–2022
— Invited Artist / Seminar, Forms of Life, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp / Mudam Luxembourg

2020
— Artist Talk, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany

2019
— In Conversation with Mouna Mekouar, KYOTOGRAPHIE, Kyoto, Japan
— Conversation with Alfredo Jaar, The Shadow of an Image, Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris, France

2018
— Artist Presentation & Screening, La Friche la Belle de Mai, Marseille, France
— Lundi de Phantom #31 — Rencontre / Projections, Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Participation / Artist Intervention, Des images comme des oiseaux / Je me souviens, Atelier de lectures de films, Maison centrale de Poissy, France

2017
— Images qui adviennent / images en devenir, Formation continue des enseignants, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
— Presentation of Instruments, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
— Conversation with Jean-Christophe Bailly, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
— Artist Talk & Screening, MK2 Beaubourg, Paris, France
— Foyer: Questions and Reflections Around Ismaïl Bahri’s Exhibition at the Jeu de Paume, NECS Conference, Paris, France
— Revers de l’image, public conversation, Tunis, Tunisia
— Samedi culturel, artist meeting with students, Tunis, Tunisia

2016
— Public Meeting with the Artists of Incorporated!, La Criée, Rennes, France
— Round Table, Semaine des Arts, Université Paris 8 Vincennes–Saint-Denis, France

2015
— Round Table, De retour de Bamako, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France

2014
— Lundi de Phantom #15 — Orientations, Dénouement, Ligne et Film, ENSBA, Paris, France
— Lundi de Phantom #14 — Un espace pour voir, dialogue with Cécile Poblon, Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Lundi de Phantom #13 — Hanter les lieux, dialogue with Olivier Marboeuf, Magic Cinéma, Bobigny, France
— Rencontre avec l’artiste et projection d’extraits de travaux en cours, Magic Cinéma, Bobigny, France
— Nuit Blanche, discussion with Eric Degoutte and Olivier Marboeuf, Les Églises, Chelles, France
— En chemin, visit and dialogue with Guillaume Désanges, Khiasma / Les Églises, France
— sommeils et apparitions, dialogue with Simon Quéheillard, Khiasma, Les Lilas, France

2013
— Lundi de Phantom #9 — Films à blanc, Rencontre / Conférence, Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Lundi de Phantom #6, studio presentation and discussion, Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Lundi de Phantom #3, artist presentation, Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
— Presentation / Discussion around Orientations, FIDMarseille / FIDCampus, Marseille, France

2011
— Presentation and discussion with artists, École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (ENSBA), Paris, France

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

— June 2026 : Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (Verso)
— January 2025 : Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (Recto)
— October 2024 : La Maison Flottante, Normandy, France
— 2023–2024 : Fellow at Villa Medici (Académie de France à Rome), Rome, Italy
— 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

Books

— Wind / Rewind, 2026, Villa Médicis, Cneai, Université Paris 8, Paris. Bilingual edition (French / English).
— Instruments, 2017, Jeu de Paume / Les Presses du réel, Paris. Bilingual edition (French / English), 208 pp., ISBN 978-2-915704-68-6. First monograph.