Saâdane Afif

His multifaceted work draws on the know-how of craftsmen, musicians and writers in collaborative projects that challenge the very concept of the unique work of art or the individual creator. Afif, who describes himself as a “talkative conceptual artist,” uses forms of popular culture, such as music, to bring people together in a shared moment of creativity. Through the exploration of different media (performances, objects, sculptures, texts, posters, etc.), it provokes both the collapse and the expansion of the notion of creative paternity.

Since 2004, he has regularly commissioned other artists and writers to produce songs inspired by his works. These texts have become a key material of his work, the materialization of what is happening in the mind of the “watcher”, a process of interpretation inherent to the relationship between art and its audience.

Saâdane Afif has had notable solo exhibitions at the Museum Folkwang, Essen (2026); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2016, 2025); Fundació Tapiès, Barcelona (2O21); Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2019); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2018); WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2018); Leopold-Hoesch Museum, Düren (2018); La Panacée, Montpellier (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2010, 2017); Atelier Hermès, Seoul (2016); Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (2015); IAC Villeurbanne (2013); and MMK, Frankfurt (2012), among others.

Saâdane Afif was appointed as convener of Bergen Assembly 2022. He also participated in international events such as Documenta 12 (2007); the 11th Sharjah Biennial (2013); the 8th Berlin Biennale (2014); the Marrakech Biennale (2014); the 56th Venice Biennale (2015); the 10th Taipei Biennial (2016); the 15th Gwangju Biennale (2024); as well as group exhibitions at international institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, Metz (2024); Neue Galerie, Graz (2023); Kunsthalle Praha, Prague (2023); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2022); Museum für Kunst and Gewerbe, Hamburg (2021); Musée National de l’Immigration, Paris (2019); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2019); Museum Tinguely, Basel (2018); Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (2016); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2015); Museion, Bolzano (2015); and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2011).

His work is in the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris; the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco; the MUDAM, Luxembourg; the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt; the Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; among other institutional and private collections around the world.

Afif was awarded numerous grants and residencies, among them: Villa Aurora Grant Recipients, Pacific Palisades (2020); Prix Meurice pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris (2015); Marcel Duchamp Prize, Paris (2009); Prix International d’Art Contemporain de la Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco, Monaco (2006); Prix Villa Medicis Hors les Murs, Glasgow (2002); and artist residency at Villa Arson, Nice (2001).