Akram Zaatari. Against Photography: An Annotated History of the Arab Image Foundation

Explored archiving practices through Zaatari's work with the Arab Image Foundation. Traveled to K21, MMCA Seoul, and Sharjah Art Foundation.

Against Photography. An Annotated History of the Arab Image Foundation was on view at MACBA from 7 April to 25 September 2017, curated by Hiuwai Chu and Bartomeu Marí. Through Akram Zaatari's work the exhibition examined the Arab Image Foundation – the Beirut-based archive he co-founded in 1997 – and the shifting status of the photograph as document, object, material value, aesthetic form and memory. Rather than a historical account of the institution, the show took the position of an artist working from within its collection. It then travelled to K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf (2017–2018), the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul (2018) and the Sharjah Art Foundation (2019–2020). The accompanying publication was co-edited by MACBA and MMCA.