Tarek Atoui's At-Tāriq Opens at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

From February 18 to May 18, 2025, TBA21 and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza will host Tarek Atoui's inaugural solo exhibition in Madrid, titled At-Tāriq. This project, curated by Daniela Zyman and commissioned by TBA21, delves into the musical and artisanal traditions of rural Arab communities and North Africa. Over three years, Atoui collaborated with musicians and artisans from Morocco's Atlas Mountains to create an immersive experience in five majlis—traditional hospitality spaces—featuring sound installations, instruments, kinetic sculptures, and custom digital-analog devices. Utilizing lasers and tape loopers, he enhances the acoustic qualities of materials like bronze and ceramic. A new composition, crafted during a 2023 residency in Córdoba with Ziúr, Susie Ibarra, and Nancy Mounir, fuses Amazigh and Arab music with electronic elements. The exhibition will also offer concerts, lectures, and workshops, including an introductory concert, Echoes Forgotten Over Time, in Marrakech on January 31, 2025, and again in Madrid on March 3, 2025, during ARCOmadrid. Atoui's previous works have been featured at the 2019 Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, and Bourse du Commerce. His project, Improvisation in 10 Days, is scheduled at Pirelli HangarBicocca from February 6 to July 20, 2025.