Zineb Sedira, French Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale

About

Zineb Sedira was officially invited by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Franck Riester, former Minister of Culture, based on the nomination by an international selection committee consisting of Charlotte Laubard (Art Historian and Curator, Professor and Head of the Visual Arts Department at HEAD – Geneva School of Art and Design), Naomi Beckwith (Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago), Hélène Guenin (Director, Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain, Nice), Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel (Managing Director, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris), Morad Montazami (Independent Curator and Writer, Paris), Yves Robert (Executive Director, Les Biennales de Lyon) and three institutional members with representation from Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Institut français.

As a leading voice of her generation, Zineb Sedira who was born in France of Algerian descent, has been instrumental in expanding the discourse within contemporary artistic practices by exploring alternative histories of colonialism and contested historical narratives, as well as addressing in her work questions of collective memory and heritage. Since the beginning of her career, she has elaborated a polyphonic vocabulary that embraces autobiographical narration, fiction and documentary genres.

When asked about her choice of curators, Zineb Sedira said: "Yasmina, as well as Sam and Till each have a distinct curatorial approach, based on thorough research, an unwavering curiosity, and an uncompromising commitment to the artists they work with. Their respective experiences complement each other in an ideal way: Yasmina as a curator, writer and performance artist, Sam and Till as a multidisciplinary academic and curatorial duo. I have collaborated with them on many projects over the past years, and with their knowledge and intuition, I believe that we will create a project that is both meaningful and timely."