Tarek Atoui (Beirut, Lebanon, 1980; lives and works in Paris) is an artist and electro acoustic composer who explores the medium of sound and the way it gives shape to perceptions through dynamic installations, experimental acoustic environments, and collaborative performances. The artist works with composers and craftsmen from different countries to invent complex instruments with strong sculptural halos. By bringing together a wide range of materials and knowledge he tests the acoustic properties and the unique ways in which elements like bronze, water, glass and stone transmit and reflect sound. Using custom-built electronic instruments and computers, Atoui references current social and political realities, revealing music and new technologies as powerful aspects of expression and identity.
Education and social connection are integral aspects of the artist’s practice that often collaborate with different local communities and invites the visitor to interact and experience his multi-sensory environments. He has exhibited at numerous major institutions such as Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Madrid (2025), Hangar Bicocca, Milano (2025), KUB, Bregenz, (2024); S.M.A.K., Ghent (2024); Art Sonje Center, Seoul (2023); IAC-Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne (2023); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2023); The Contemporary Austin, Texas (2022); the FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2022); Fridericianum, Kassel (2020); Fondation Serralves, Porto (2022); MUDAM, Luxembourg (2022); Bourse de Commerce-Pinault Collection, Paris (2021); Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE (2021); NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (2018); Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels (2025 & 2017); and Bergen Assembly (2016).
He also presented his performances in renowned institutions like Palazzo Grassi e Punta della Dogana – Pinault Collection, Venice (2019); Para Site, Hong Kong (2017);Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2017); Tate Modern, London (2016); Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2014 and 2015); Serpentine Gallery, London (2012); Performa 11, New York (2011).
Important group exhibitions also include the 13th Taipei Biennial (2023); 17th Istanbul Biennial(2022); Bourse du Commerce-Pinault Collection, Paris (2021); 13th Gwangju Biennial, South Korea(2021); the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2019); the 58th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennial (2019); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2019); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow(2018); Fondazione Prada, Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice (2014); dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel (2012); New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2010); the Ninth Sharjah Biennial (2009); theMediacity Biennial, Seoul (2010); and Haus Der Kunst, Munich (2010).
Mary Cremin is Head of Programming at IMMA and was previously Director of Void Gallery, Derry since 2017, where she has supported artists to produce and present ground-breaking new works, including commissioning the artist Helen Cammock’s Turner Prize winning film The Long Note. Cremin was the Commissioner and Curator of the Irish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with artist Eva Rothchild in 2019. Working with organisations such as the Afghan Visual Arts & History Collective and Beirut Art Residency, her programme focuses on revealing new narratives and histories that address and challenge the disparities that exist within Western culture, acting as a curatorial corrective. Her areas of research are embedded in ecology, ethics and is informed by politically and socially engaged practice.