San Gimignano
Beijing
Les Moulins
Habana
Roma
Sao Paulo
Paris
The French-Moroccan artist, photographer and video artist Leila Alaoui was born in 1982, and studied photography at the City University of New York. Her work explores the building of identity, cultural diversity and migration in the Mediterranean area. She used photography and video to express various social realities through a visual language lying on the boundary between the documentary and the plastic arts. Since 2009 her works have been shown in various countries, amongst other places, at the Institut du Monde Arabe and at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, at the Konsthall of Malmoe in Sweden, in the national palace of the citadel of Cascais in Portugal, or at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal, Canada.
Alaoui’s humanitarian commitment also included various photographic missions for prominent NGOs, such as the Danish Refugee Council, Search for Common Ground and HCR. In January 2016, while working on an Amnesty International commission about women’s rights in Burkina Faso, Leila Alaoui was seriously wounded in the terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou. She did not recover, and died on 18 January 2016. The Fondation Leila Alaoui was set up to preserve her work, defend her values and inspire and support artists working to promote human dignity.
2026
THE OTHER - L'AUTRE, Centre des arts de l'Ecolint, Geneva, Switzerland
LEILA ALAOUI, Something Art Space, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2025
MADE IN INDIA, Fondation Maison du Maroc, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Paris, France
2024
MADE IN INDIA, Galleria Continua / Marais, Paris, France
2022
STORIE INVISIBILE / UNSEEN STORIES, Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice, Italy
2021
LES MAROCAINS, Église Saint-Merry, Biennale Photo-Climat, Paris, France
2020
LEILA ALAOUI, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Stuttgart, Germany
LEILA ALAOUI, Maison Dentsu, Paris, France
RITE OF PASSAGE, Somerset House, London, United Kingdom
2019
YA RAYAH, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Popular Republic of China
YA RAYAH, Galleria Continua, Beijing, China
MAROCAINES AU DEVANT DE LA SCÈNE, Fondation Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco
AMAR LAS DIFFERENCIAS, Fototeca de Cuba, Havana Biennial, La Habana, Cuba
LOS MARROQUÍES, Fundación Tres Culturas del Mediterráneo, Sevilla, Spain
LOS MARROQUÍES, Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain
LOS MARROQUÍES, Casa Arabe, Córdoba, Spain
2018
NO PASARA, Saison Photo de l'Epau, Abbaye Royale de l'Epau, Le Mans, France
TRAVERSÉES, Galleria Continua / Les Moulins, Boissy-le-Châtel, France
LES MAROCAINS, Musée Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakech, Morocco
2017
MAROCAINES AU DEVANT DE LA SCÈNE, French Institute, Essaouira, Morocco
NO PASARA, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, Canada
JE TE PARDONNE, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
JE TE PARDONNE, Collection Lambert en Avignon, Avignon, France
LEILA ALAOUI, Photolux Festival 2017, Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Lucca, Italia
NATREEN, Théâtre Liberté, Toulon, France
NO PASARA, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, Canada
2016
JE TE PARDONNE, Galleria Continua / Les Moulins, Boissy-le-Châtel, France
CROSSINGS, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden
COURAGE, Palácio da Cidadela, Cascais, Portugal
2015
LES MAROCAINS, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
2011
CASABLANCA FRENCH INSTITUTE, Villa Zevaco, Casablanca, Morocco
2026
CROSSROADS. REGARDS CROISÉES SUR LE MONDE, Arsenal, Galerie d'exposition, Metz, France
2025
CE QUI SE TRAME. HISTOIRES TISSÉES ENTRE L'INDE ET LA FRANCE, Mobilier national, Paris, France
2024
UNE FRAGILE POÉSIE, Dar Cherifa, Marrakech, Morocco
2023
LES MAROCAINS, MAC Maison des arts Créteil, Biennale Photo-Climat, Créteil, France
2022
Il est ici, toujours ailleurs, GALLERIA CONTINUA / Paris, Paris, France
Il est ici, jamais ailleurs, GALLERIA CONTINUA / Les Moulins, Boissy-le-Châtel, France
2021
HYBRIDE 4, Biennal, Lens, France
EYES IN THE SKY, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
À BRAS OUVERTS, Galleria Continua / Marais, Paris, France2020
VOYAGE VOYAGES, MUCEM, Marseille, France
2019
STATELESS: VIEWS OF GLOBAL MIGRATION, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, Illinois, USA
LES MAROCAINES, DU REGARD DE L'AUTRE AU REGARD SUR SOI, Maison de la Photographie, Lille, France
SAHARA, MONDES CONNECTÉS, MAAOA (Musée d'Arts Africains, Océaniens, Amérindiens), Marseille, France
RHILA - VOYAGE, Espace d'Art Société Générale, Casablanca, Morocco
2018
AL MUSIQA, Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, France
PHOTOGRAPHES, Le Cellier, Reims, France
UNE FRAGILE POÉSIE, Institut Français, Marrakech, Morocco
TRIBE: CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE ARAB WORLD, American University Museum, Washington, D.C., USA
UMBRAL, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona, Spain2017
CONTINUA SPHÈRES ENSEMBLE, Le CENTQUATRE-PARIS, Paris, France
ART PARIS, Grand Palais, Paris, France
AFRIQUES CAPITALES, Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris, France
AFRIQUES CAPITALES, Gare Saint-Sauveur, Lille, France
L’AFRIQUE EN CAPITALE, Musée Mohammed VI, Rabat, Morocco
FRONTIÈRES, Cité Miroir, Liège, Belgium
EN REBELDIA, IVAM, Valence, Spain
ON AIME L'ART...!!, Collection Lambert en Avignon, Avignon, France
ON AIME L'ART...!!, Collection Lambert en Avignon, Avignon, France
2016
FESTIVAL FIFDH, Geneva, Switzerland
DAK’ART 2016, Dakar, Senegal
MARRAKECH BIENNIAL, Marrakech, Morocco
JACQUES CHIRAC OU LE DIALOGUE DES CULTURES, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France
GRASSI INVITES #2, GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
PHOTOMED 2016, Sanary-sur-Mer, France
RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES DE LA PHOTO, Fez, Morocco
PARIS PHOTO, Grand Palais, Paris, France
ESSENTIEL PAYSAGE, MACAAL, Marrakech, Morocco
EN/QUÊTE D'IDENTITÉ, Abbaye de Jumièges, Jumièges, France
PARIS PHOTO, Grand Palais, Paris, France
2015
BRANDTS MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ART, Odense, Denmark
EN-QUÊTE / IN-QUEST /تحقيق, Ghaya Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia
LUXEMBOURG ART WEEK, Wild Project Gallery, Luxembourg
MUNTREF CENTRO DE ARTE CONTEMPORANEO, Buenos Aires, Argentina
GALLERY IFA, Stuttgart / Berlin, Germany
ANKARIA FOUNDATION, Reales Alcazares, Seville, Spain
EXPO MILANO 2015, Milano, Italy
PHOTOMED FESTIVAL 2015, Hôtel des Arts de Toulon, Toulon, France
1-54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR, Voice Gallery, New York, USA
THE MARRAKECH MUSEUM FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL ARTS, Morocco
PHOTOMED LIBAN 2015, Beirut, Lebanon
2014
LE MAROC CONTEMPORAIN, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
NEW YORK PHOTO FESTIVAL, New York, USA
PHOTOMED FESTIVAL 2014, Sanary-sur-Mer, France
SALON DE TANGER DES LIVRES ET DES ARTS, Tangier, Morocco
MARRAKECH BIENNIAL, Marrakech, Morocco
MARRAKECH BIENNIAL, Morocco
2013
STATION, The Danish Refugee Council & European Commission, Beirut, Lebanon
ART FACTUM GALLERY, Beirut, Lebanon
RIAD EL FENN, Marrakech, Morocco
2012
AMSTERDAM PHOTOGRAPHY BIENNIAL (GRID), Amsterdam, Netherlands
WOMEN ON THE VERGE, The Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai, UAE
CARTE BLANCHE À MAHI BINE BINE, Espace d'Art CDG Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
MARRAKECH BIENNIAL, Marrakech, Morocco
2011
MARRAKECH ART FAIR, Images Affranchies, Morocco
COLLECTIVO LA LATINA, Madrid, Spain
ROYAL MANSOUR MARRAKECH, L’Atelier 21, Marrakech, Morocco
2026
L'APPEL DU LARGE, PhotoTanger, International Image Festival, Tangier, Morocco
LES MAROCAINS, Le Festival de l'histoire de l'art, Fontainebleau, France
2025
FESTIVAL PHOTO MÉDITERRANÉEN FACE À LA MER, Carcassonne, France
2021
LES MAROCAINS, Église Saint-Merry, Biennale Photo-Climat, Paris, France
2015
CAIRO VIDEO FESTIVAL, Egypte
VIDEO FOREVER, Paris, France
LES NUITS PHOTOGRAPHIQUES, Paris, France
2014
LES INSTANTS VIDEO, Marseille, France
VIDEO ART & EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, Tribeca, New York, USA
AIVA INTERNATIONAL VIDEO ART FESTIVAL, Sweden
"NOW & AFTER" Video Art Festival / Honorary Jury Mention, Moscow, Russia
British Museum, London, United Kingdom
Musée des Beaux Arts, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Musée Mohammed VI, Rabat, Morocco
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
MACCAL, Musée d'Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden, Marrakech, Morocco
