Galerie Lilia Ben Salah hosts Présences Croisées – Crossed Presences, a group exhibition tracing the entangled trajectories of seven women artists whose practices span generations and geographies. Anchored in the gallery’s ongoing curatorial engagement with Arab artistic histories, the exhibition foregrounds aesthetic, political, and spiritual lineages shaped in dialogue with Paris, a site of both encounter and dislocation.
From historical figures such as Baya Mahieddine, Amal Abdenour, and Fêla Kefi-Leroux, to contemporary voices including Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Farah Khelil, Katayoun Rouhi, and Emma Ben Aziza, this constellation explores tensions between heritage and reinvention, memory and creation. Their works resonate with the lived struggles, circulations, and visual vocabularies formed by Arab women artists in and around Paris, reviving the echoes of a narrative still unfolding.
The exhibition coincides with the launch of Arab Presences | Modern Art and Decolonisation – Paris 1908 – 1988, the first English-language publication dedicated to Présences Arabes, the landmark exhibition held at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (April – August 2024). Published by Zamân Books & Curating in collaboration with The Farjam Foundation and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the catalogue offers a necessary re-reading of Arab artistic trajectories through the lens of modernity, resistance, and cultural exchange.
48 x 37 cm. Courtesy of the Artist and lilia ben salah gallery.
Together, the exhibition and publication open a critical space to reflect on underrepresented histories and the enduring contribution of Arab artists, particularly women, to the fabric of 20th-century art in France. Présences Croisées – Crossed Presences becomes a site of encounter in its own right, offering not closure, but continuity.
Location: Lilia Ben Salah, Paris, France
Date: 27 June until 26 July 2025