Contemporary Arab Photography

Michket Krifa, who is of Tunisian origin, lives in Paris. She is an independent curator and writer for African and Middle East visual arts and was the artistic director of the 8th and 9th Bamako Photography Encounters, the African biennial of photography, from January 2009 to December 2013. She has curated several exhibitions, and has written and directed many publications, among them: "Arab Photography Now" co-edited with Rose Issa; 8th Bamako Encounters: "Borders"; 9th Bamako Encounters: "For a Sustainable World";"Dégagements, Tunisie un an après" (Institute du Monde Arabe) "Le Printemps Palestinien" ("Palestine Spring"); "Iran, regards croisés", as well as "Regards Persans" (the first photography exhibition in Europe since the Islamic revolution); and "Algerie, les faits et les effets" on Algerian photography during the civil war. Over five years she curated many exhibitions on women photographers presented in the Arles Festival of Photography, and other venues in the Arab countries and Europe. Her most recent essay is for the "She Who Tells the Story" catalogue of the MFA in Boston.

She also curated many solo shows (such as Abbas, Youssef Nabil, Shadi Ghadirian, Fazel Sheikh, Zineb Sedira, Janane Al Ani, Patrizia Maimouna Guerrezi) and has been a consultant for many photographic institutions, such as the World Press Photo. She has been organizing exhibitions within French, European, African and Middle Eastern organizations since 1986 on the subject of Arab-Islamic culture and Africa. Her work is concerned with the role of the image as an essential element between the Arab-Islamic and African worlds and the West for cultural dialogues and exchanges.

For more information, please contact [email protected].