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ANTANANARIVO
24 APRIL - 17 OCTOBER 2026
Fondation H invites the curator Abdellah Karroum to propose a singular curatorial reading of its international collection of artworks, conceived in dialogue with Malagasy culture. The exhibition is structured around the kabary, a foundational oratorical practice in Madagascar. As a highly codified form of speech, the kabary accompanies key moments of collective life, including alliances, mourning, negotiation, decision-making and public ceremonies. It functions as a space of mediation, where speech creates links between individuals and connects the living with their ancestors and a shared history.
The kabary unfolds according to a codified progression. It opens with a gesture of respect, marked by humility, formal greetings and an acknowledgment of the symbolic conditions of speaking. This introduction prepares the ground for attentive listening and exchange. The discourse then develops through a dense and layered composition of proverbs [ohabolana], metaphors [oha-pitenenana], narratives and references to collective memory. Rather than closing definitively, the kabary ends by opening outward—towards reconciliation, continuity, action or future possibilities.
This structure is transposed by Abdellah Karroum into the exhibition design across the three ground-floor galleries of Fondation H. The first gallery operates as an introduction, establishing the framework and intentions of the encounter with the collection. The second gallery forms the core of the exhibition, presenting the diversity of works, narratives and forms, and encouraging an attentive and intimate reading of a private collection that is both internationally oriented and deeply rooted in Madagascar. The final gallery opens onto new perspectives through more monumental works, conceived as extensions of the curatorial discourse and as invitations to imagine other possible futures.
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