Untitled 14km - Youness Atbane

• Untitled 14km investigates how the contemporary art world engages with questions of identity, with a particular focus on what is framed as “Arab identity.”

In the imaginary museum of North Africa, Middle East Contemporary Art, an Arab-Andalusian poet, a museum director, a curator, and a contemporary artist attempt to conceive an exhibition that re-examines modernism through two parallel lenses: the poetic legacy of the Arab-Andalusian era and the practices of established contemporary Arab artists. Their exchanges reveal the tensions embedded in translating historical narratives into contemporary artistic frameworks.

Through this constructed situation, the project exposes the underlying negotiations, frictions, and power dynamics that shape the definition of a so-called “contemporary Arab identity” within the global art system. It questions legitimacy, authority, and representation, highlighting how identity is not fixed but continuously produced through discourse, competition, and institutional validation.