Lydia Ourahmane (born 1992, Saïda, Algeria) is an artist based in Barcelona, London and Algiers. Ourahmane has had recent solo exhibitions at MACBA, Barcelona, SculptureCentre, New York; rhizome, Algiers; Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland; S.M.A.K Ghent; Portikus, Frankfurt; De Appel, Amsterdam;

Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts Established in 1998, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts is a contemporary art center in San Francisco, California, US, and part of the California College of the Arts. It holds exhibitions, lectures, and symposia, releases publications, and ...

, San Francisco and

Chisenhale Gallery Chisenhale Gallery is a non-profit contemporary art gallery based in London's East End. Background The organisation focuses on a programme of commissioned exhibitions, events, performances and talks. The gallery occupies the ground level of a ...

, London. Her work was included in the 60th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, 15th

Gwangju Biennale The Gwangju Biennale is a contemporary art biennale founded in September 1995 in Gwangju, South Jeolla province, South Korea. The Gwangju Biennale is hosted by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation and the city of Gwangju. The Gwangju Biennale Founda ...

, 15th Istanbul Biennial (2017), 34th Bienal de São Paulo (2021), New Museum Triennial and

Manifesta Manifesta, also known as the European Nomadic Biennial, is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale. History Manifesta was founded in 1994 by Dutch art historian Hedwig Fijen. The first edition took place in Rotterdam. One of ...

12, Palermo (2018).

Career

Ourahmane work has been exhibited internationally since she graduated from Goldsmiths University London in 2014. Ourahmane's research-driven practice spans spirituality, contemporary geopolitics, migration, and the complex histories of colonialism. She incorporates video, sound, performance, sculpture, and installation on an often large or monumental scale that has consequences beyond the walls of her exhibitions. Drawing on personal and collective narratives and experiences, Ourahmane challenges broader institutional structures such as surveillance, logistics and bureaucratic processes, and the ways these forces are registered. Ourahmane's recent solo exhibitions include; ''Tassili'',

SculptureCenter SculptureCenter is a not-for-profit, contemporary art museum located in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1928 as "The Clay Club" by Dorothea Denslow. In 2013, SculptureCentre attracted around 13,000 visitors. History Fou ...

, NY,

Fondation Louis Vuitton The Louis Vuitton Foundation ( French: ''Fondation d'entreprise Louis-Vuitton''), previously Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation (''Fondation Louis-Vuitton pour la création''), is a French art museum and cultural center sponsored by the group L ...

, Paris and Mercer Union, Toronto (2022-2023), ''Survival in the afterlife'', Portikus, Frankfurt and De Appel, Amsterdam (2021); ''Barzakh'', Kunsthalle Basel, Triangle – Astérides, Marseille, S.M.A.K. Ghent (2021-2022); ''صرخة شمسیة Solar Cry'',

, San Francisco (2020); and ''The you in us'',

, London (2018), among others. Her work was included in the 60th La Biennale di Venezia, 15th Gwangju Biennale, 15th Istanbul Biennial (2017), 34th Bienal de São Paulo (2021), New Museum Triennial and Manifesta 12, Palermo (2018). In 2018 Ourahmane presented ''Music for Two Seas'' an underwater sound work in the coast of Stromboli with collaborator

Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar (; ; es, Nicolás; born January 10, 1990) is a Chilean-American composer and recording artist based in New York. Among his notable works are the albums ''Space Is Only Noise'' (2011), ''Sirens'' (2016), and '' Cenizas'' (2020). H ...

. With collaborator Alex Ayed, she presented ''Laws of Confusion'' at

Renaissance Society The Renaissance Society, founded in 1915, is a leading independent contemporary art museum located on the campus of the University of Chicago, with a focus on the commissioning and production of new works by international artists. The kunsthalle- ...

, Chicago (2021) and was included in Risquons-Tout, WIELS Contemporary Art Center, Brussels (2020). On 1st October 2022 she presented ''sync'' a 24-hour performance at the

KW Institute for Contemporary Art The KW Institute for Contemporary Art (also known as Kunst-Werke) is a contemporary art institution located in Auguststraße 69 in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. Klaus Biesenbach was the founding director of KW; the current director is Krist Gruijthuijsen ...

, Berlin in collaboration with artist

Daniel Blumberg Daniel Blumberg is an English artist, musician, songwriter and composer from London who works between drawing, improvisation, song form and film. Music career From 2005 to 2009, Blumberg was a founding member and lead singer for the band Cajun ...

Other activities

In 2023, Ourahmane signed an open letter in support of the appointment of curator Mohamed Almusibli as director of Kunsthalle Basel.Alex Greenberger (16 November 2023)
Kunsthalle Basel Names New Director, Then Faces Pushback Because He Signed Gaza Ceasefire Letter
�'' ARTnews''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ourahmane, Lydia 21st-century Algerian artists 1992 births Living people Algerian women artists People from Saïda Algerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London