At the Moderna galerija Ljubljana, we are announcing an exhibition by internationally renowned American-Lebanese artist Walid Raad, titled Festival of (In)Gratitude.

In his artworks, Raad explores how wars and decades of socio-political instability, such as those experienced in the Middle East, cause lasting physical and psychological violence that is reflected in bodies, psyches, spaces, traditions and memories. Through photography, video, installations, and performances, Raad's work engages the creation of history and its narratives, which are always biased, exclusionary and instrumental from positions of power. But instead of inserting marginal narratives into established histories, Raad reshapes the framework of historicization, centering it on ephemerality, ambiguity, and imagination.

Through created documents and stories related to the political and socio-economic contexts of Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East, he imagines a surrogate world of violence against people, land and history, one filled with otherworldly doubt, idiosyncrasy, wit, and labyrinthine space and time. In this exhibition, Raad also expands his temporal, geopolitical, cultural, and epistemological frame by inserting aspects of the Slovenian and (post)Yugoslav worlds, which he tackles through new works created in dialogue with archival material from Moderna galerija.

At Moderna galerija, Walid Raad will present artworks from his three ongoing projects: The Atlas Group (1989–2004), Scratching on Things I Could Disavow, and Sweet Talk: Beirut (Commissions). Briefly: The Atlas Group (1989–2004) is Raad’s creation of documents engaging with the protracted wars in Lebanon; Scratching on Things I Could Disavow is his exploration of the infrastructures for the arts in the “Arab world”; and Sweet Talk: Beirut (Commissions) is a long-term documentation of Beirut (its buildings, streets, shopfronts, gardens, etc.).

Curated by: Zdenka Badovinac

Opening: Friday, 21 November 2025, at 8 PM

Walid Raad’s works include The Atlas Group, a fifteen-year project between 1989 and 2004 about the contemporary history of Lebanon, and the ongoing projects Scratching on Things I Could Disavow and Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut). His books include Cotton under my Feet, Walkthrough, The Truth Will Be Known When The Last Witness Is Dead, My Neck Is Thinner Than A Hair, Let’s Be Honest The Weather Helped, and Scratching on Things I Could Disavow.

Raad’s solo exhibitions include the Zurich Kunsthaus (Zurich), Hamburger Kunsthalle (Hamburg), Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza (Madrid), Louvre (Paris), The Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Sweden), among others.  His works have also been shown in Documenta 11 and 13 (Kassel, Germany), The Venice Biennale (Venice, Italy), Sao Paulo Bienale (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Istanbul Biennal (Istanbul, Turkey), Homeworks I and IV (Beirut, Lebanon) and numerous other museums, biennales and venues in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. 

Raad is also the recipient of the Trellis Art Fund Milestone Award (2025), The American Academy of Arts and Letters (2024), Aachener Kunstpreis (2018), ICP Infinity Award (2016), the Hasselblad Award (2011, among other grants, prizes and awards.

Raad is a Professor of Photography in Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA).

Raad is represented by Paula Cooper Gallery in New York and Sfeir-Semler Gallery in Beirut and Hamburg.