Born 1980, Lebanon.
Lives and works in Paris, France.


Tarek Atoui is an artist and electroacoustic composer, working within the realm of sound performance and composition. He engineers complex and inventive instruments as well as arranges and curates interventions, concerts, performances, and workshops. His work often revolves around large-scale, collaborative performances that develop from extensive research into music history and instrumentation, while exploring new methods of production. At the core of his work is an ongoing reflection on the instrument and the act of performance as a complex, open, and dynamic process. The performances he orchestrates are for the most part improvised, but are always grounded in meticulous research into sound archives and collections. Using custom-built electronic instruments and computers, Atoui references current social and political realities, revealing music and new technologies as powerful aspects of expression and identity. Education and social connection are integral aspects of Atoui’s practice.

He has presented work internationally including at Schirn Kunsthalle, Francfort, Germany (2019); NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (2018); Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels, Belgium (2017); Bergen Assembly, Norway (2016; Tate Modern, London, UK (2016); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, USA (2015); Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France (2014 and 2015); Fondazione Prada, Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice, Italy (2014); Parcours Hors-les-murs, FIAC 2013, Paris, France (2013); New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, USA (2010); the Ninth Sharjah Biennial, United Arab Emirates (2009); La Maison Rouge, Paris, France (2010); the Mediacity Biennial, Seoul, South Korea (2010); the Haus Der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2010); Performa 11, New York, USA (2011) and dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel, Germany (2012).