ANTANANARIVO
24 APRIL - 17 OCTOBER 2026
Fondation H invites curator Abdellah Karroum to present an original interpretation of Collection Fondation H. Bringing together works by artists primarily from the African continent, the collection forges historical, cultural, and political dialogues with Madagascar, Africa, and the wider world. For this exhibition, Abdellah Karroum has selected over fifty artworks by forty-one artists.
Inspired by kabary, the ancestral Malagasy art of oratory, the exhibition is conceived as an invitation to reflect on Collection Fondation H and on the role of art in contemporary societies. Structurally, kabary follows a codified progression, whose architecture Abdellah Karroum transposes into the exhibition space. The guest curator thus proposes a three-part visitor journey, each chapter carrying its own distinct density and tone.
The first chapter functions as an introduction to this Kabarin-Javakanto [discourse of artworks], establishing the framework of the discourse, its intentions, and the conditions of encounter with the Fondation H’s Collection. The second chapter unfolds with rich density, reminiscent of an intimate personal collection or a cabinet of curiosities cherished by a collector. This chapter forms the core of the discourse, presenting groups of works in dialogue with one another, united by the artists’ engagement with the major issues shaping our world today. The third chapter opens onto a sense of monumentality, turning toward the future and thus bringing this kabary to a close.
“I see Collection Fondation H as a constellation of expressions reflecting our time—works produced on the African continent or resonating with the major questions that shape it. The coherence of the collection lies in acquisitions driven by passion that, over the years, have evolved into a committed and socially conscious institutional project.”
Abdellah Karroum, Curator of the exhibition
Excerpts from the exhibition catalogue
“I would say that this collection is the result of both passion and a more intellectual approach. Naturally, your arrival [Margaux Huille] at my side in shaping this art acquisition policy, along with the parallel development of Fondation H - notably marked by the opening of a new exhibition space of over 2,000 square metres in 2023 and the arrival of tens of thousands of monthly visitors - has changed the way I buy artworks. It was no longer so much a question of reacting to individual works, but rather of developing a vision, of understanding our social responsibility in this regard, of establishing coherence and connections between the works, and of building collections structured around specific artists. Yet I still feel just as close to this collection, and to every single – and I mean every single! – work that makes it up, that I could describe each of them with my eyes closed. The collection is also the result of certain special relationships we have forged with artists, as is the case with M’barek Bouhchichi, who is featured in the exhibition we are looking at today, and of whose work we hold a substantial body in the collection. What interests me is observing and critiquing, in the best sense of the word ‘critique’, that is to say, analysing and commenting on, the world around us through the eyes of the artists of our time. Some connections that are less obvious at first glance have also emerged over time, such as those with the works of Alighiero Boetti, an Italian artist who fascinates me, whose works resonate so well with certain more recent practices that are closer to Madagascar, as Abdellah Karroum so beautifully highlights in this exhibition.”
Mustapha Akrim
Manal AlDowayan
Ghada Amer
Joël Andrianomearisoa
Lee Bae
Sammy Baloji
Nù Barreto
Abdelkader Benchamma
Rita Mawuena Benissan
Alighiero Boetti
Patrick Bongoy
M’barek Bouhchichi
Simphiwe Buthelez
Ange Dakuo
Beau Nzazi Disundi
El Anatsui
Safaa Erruas
Ngozi-Emeje Ezema
Sanaa Gateja
Kapwani Kiwanga
Abdoulaye Konaté
Ndary Lo
Ibrahim Mahama
Troy Makaza
Senzeni Marasela
Ahmed Mater
Georgina Maxim
Mohammed Meheli
Moataz Nasr
Otobong Nkanga
Wura-Natasha Ogunji
Hyacinthe Ouattara
Sara Ouhaddou
Arilala Ophelia Ralamboson
Finoana Ratovo
Odur Ronald
Shahzia Sikander
Moffat Takadiwa
Katlego Tlabela
Maya Inès Touam
Barbara Wildenboer
In April 2026, Fondation H publishes the companion catalogue to the exhibition Kabarin-javakanto: a reading of Collection Fondation H by Abdellah Karroum. Learn more…
Biography of Abdellah Karroum
Born in Morocco in 1970, Abdellah Karroum lives and works between Morocco and Europe. A researcher, curator and artistic director, he is the founder of several artistic initiatives, including L’appartement 22, an independent space for creation, exhibition and residencies established in Rabat in 2002, as well as hors’champs publishing and R22 art radio. He has led numerous curatorial projects, notably for biennials (Dakar, Gwangju, Marrakech, Cotonou, Medellín) and for institutions such as the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) in Madrid. From 2013 to 2021, he served as Director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, where he organised major exhibitions and strengthened research and collection programmes. His work explores the relationship between sites of artistic production and exhibition spaces, the translation of artistic vocabularies across contexts, and the questioning of historical narratives. He regularly publishes in art journals, including N’Ka: Journal of Contemporary African Art and the Journal of Visual Culture.
Cover image : Alighiero Boetti, Mappa, 1970-1983 © Courtesy Tornabuoni Art Paris