Kader Attia, an internationally known artist who lives in Algiers and Berlin, received the 2nd Ruth Baumgarte Art Award. Being valued at EUR 20,000, the Art Award is one of the most highly renumerated art awards in Germany.

The ceremony took place on Saturday, 4th June 2016, at the Berlinische Galerie in Berlin-Kreuzberg. More than 200 guests from the worlds of culture, society and politics attended – among them prominent figures such as the French ambassador Etienne Philippe, actress Hannelore Hoger and Chris Arend.

Kader Attia, born in Paris in 1970 as the child of Algerian parents, grew up in France and Algeria. He received his artistic education between 1991 and 1998 at renowned art academies in Paris and Barcelona. Attia spent the years 1995 to 1998 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.

Attia‘s North African and Western European roots form the starting point of his political art, which particularly deals with the effects of colonialism on non-Western cultures. The aspect of “reparation” is a central motif of his work, which is characterised by intense poetic-philosophical observations. For Attia, “reparation” principally reflects destruction, meaning pain, respectively, which must be overcome. Depending on the way it is implemented – as traceless restoration or visibly remaining turning point – it furthermore serves as an expression of a specific cultural affiliation.

Since the late 1990s, the artist has attracted attention to himself and his work through numerous international exhibitions. His participations in the Venice Biennale in 2011 and the documenta 13 in 2012 resulted, at the latest, in wide international recognition. His works are represented at the Tate Modern, London, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, as well as the permanent collection of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

The artist received the Prix Marcel Duchamp in 2016; his exhibition at Museum for Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt/Main, was selected as “Exhibition of the Year 2016” by German AICA.

View the photo album

Press Reports on Kader Attia

Scherben bringen Unglück, ART Magazin, März 2016

Die Wunden der Vergangenheit, ARD, Titel Thesen Temperamente, 8. April 2016

Kader Attia - Starke Augenöffner, Handelsblatt vom 8. April 2016

Kader Attia. Sacrifice and Harmony, Kunstforum international Juni/Juli 2016, S. 272f.