Long Live the Bride!

Arab World Institute, Paris

Exhibition from September 29, 2026 to January 17, 2027

Curators: Elodie Bouffard, Nawel Dehina

Marriage is a pivotal moment in the intimate and social lives of women and men around the world. In the Maghreb, this event is celebrated in grand style, as it is an opportunity to come together as a community and share in collective joy. One of the words used to designate marriage is farah (joy in Arabic). To explore this pivotal moment that is marriage in the Maghreb, discover an exceptional selection of costumes and adornments never before exhibited in France. These are presented alongside the creations of 27 contemporary artists from the Maghreb and its diasporas, who offer their own subjective perspectives on this important moment in social and intimate life.

Costumes and Adornments Never Before Exhibited in France

The exhibition is organized around heritage works and presents a selection of around forty costumes and adornments never before exhibited in France, drawn from Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian collections. Dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, these exceptional pieces celebrate the bride and the women around her, while highlighting national and regional specificities, the richness of shared heritage, and practices shared notably by Muslim and Jewish communities. The evolution of costume, the persistence and specificity of rituals, symbolism, and protective practices are among the subjects explored.

Placing the bride at the heart of the exhibition, while also highlighting the role of women in these celebrations—from assembling the trousseau to making the garments and accompanying the bride—the exhibition also seeks to confront these heritage works with the perspectives of artists, thereby highlighting contemporary social continuities and developments.

Featuring 27 Contemporary Artists

To capture the essence of these celebrations in all their diversity, the exhibition presents, alongside these rare and exceptional collections, the work of 27 contemporary artists, mainly women, from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and their diasporas. They offer their subjective perspectives on this important moment in social and intimate life, taking visitors through the different codified stages of marriage and helping us understand what these ritual celebrations reveal today about the societies that practice them.

The exhibition Long Live the Bride!, organized at the IMA as part of the Mediterranean Season implemented by the Institut français, explores marriage as a constantly evolving social ritual. Some artists celebrate traditions and the moments of collective joy these festivities create, while questioning the legacy of these traditions and their survival. Others place certain marriage practices in perspective with the societies that practice them and the ideologies they convey.

Combining heritage objects, artistic creations, archives, and immersive scenography to highlight both the tangible and intangible dimensions of this cultural heritage (dances, music, costumes, food, etc.), the exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive cultural and mediation programme, inaugurated by a major parade under the artistic direction of Mohamed Bourouissa: the festive procession Raconte-moi ton mariage.

The featured artists:

Maïssane Alibrahimi, Héla Ammar, Daoud Aoulad-Syad, Ismaël Bazri, Souhila Bel Bahar, Valérie Belin, Sabrina Belouaar, Carolle Bénitah, Jean Besancenot, Meriem Bouderbala, Kenza Bousseloub, Dora Dalila Cheffi, Abdel Djalel Chib, Margaux Derhy, Khadija el Abyad, Ymane Fakhir, Djamel Farès, Fatna Gbouri, Abdelaziz Gorgi, Farida Hamak, Yves Jeanmougin, Sophia Kacimi, Mouna Karray, Fela Kefi Leroux, Ghalia Kriaa, Amira Lamti, Lazhar Mansouri, Yasmina Ouahid, Sara Ouhaddou, Shourouk Rhaiem, Ghizlane Sahli, Ridha Zili

Institut du Monde Arabe
1, rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard, Place Mohammed V, 75005

www.imarabe.org/fr

Contact :
@institutdumondearabe