The French photographer, Prix Nadar 2015, selected four hundred photographs for a collective exhibition revealing numerous new talents from the young Algerian photography scene at the Cité Internationale des Arts.
It was in 2015, during a photography workshop in Algiers with photographers coming from different regions of Algeria, that I was struck by the energy and dynamism of all these young people. They expressed a strong desire to show, to share, to talk about their country.
This desire, I saw it in many other photographers as well, also committed to document where they lived, their environment, their daily life, their questionings.
It was quickly evident that it was necessary to show this vibrancy, this dynamic of photography.
Ikbal/Arrivées is an exhibition of twenty photographers, men and women, who are from and continue to live in different regions of Algeria. The majority of photographers are between twenty and thirty years old. The many subjects of which they speak are diverse. They range from a look at social issues (unemployed, immigrants…), the city, rural areas, to those more intimate and poetic such as prayer, memory, lost loved ones, even spirits (with the series Moul El Djellaba).
These young artists, through their images, speak to us about themselves and the places where they live. It is an invaluable testimony of the great vitality and richness of the photography currant moving through the country.
Moreover, it is essential that Algeria, like many other countries throughout the African continent, be told, described, photographed… by Algerians themselves. These young photographers show us how they are conscious of that and send us a message loud and clear with tons of talent!
Bruno Boudjelal
Bruno Boudjelal, Ikbal /Arrivées
Biennale of Contemporary Arab World Photography
From September 13 through November 12, 2017
Cité Internationale des Arts
8 Rue de l’Hôtel de ville
75004 Paris
France
http://biennalephotomondearabe.com/
This exhibition was created with the help of the Algerian Agency for Cultural Outreach (AARC), the French Institute of Algeria, and the city of Paris. It will be presented in Marseille, at La Friche la Belle de Mai, at the end of the year.
