Following a selection committee organized by the Institut français, Yto Barrada has been chosen to represent France at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2026.

The decision of the committee, chaired by Claire Le Restif, director of the Centre d'art contemporain d'Ivry – le Crédac, was approved by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture.

The jury selected Barrada "for her multidisciplinary practice that unites various artistic and social communities in search of a new utopia. An iconoclastic researcher, a borderless and holistic artist, Yto Barrada reinvents 'social sculpture' through the lens of alternative pedagogies and transforms the canons of modernism into a plural garden. From Paris to Tangier, and through New York, she traces a unique cartography that gathers new voices—unseen, fragile, historical, or forgotten—to share their narratives. These are just some of the reasons that led the jury to invite Yto Barrada to unfold her worlds within the space of the French Pavilion and share them with the audiences of the Venice Biennale."