Lectures
Who holds the gaze? When objects look back – Ali Cherri
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
From Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
On Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM, we will host a lecture held by by the artist Ali Cherri.
Returning the Gaze is a project developed in close dialogue over more than a year with the Museo Egizio in Turin, born from an encounter with fragmented ancient Egyptian artefacts whose missing eyes reveal both damage and silencing. Through gilded bronze prosthetic eyes, the work seeks to transform the museum’s one-directional gaze into a reciprocal relationship, drawing on ancient rituals of reactivation while questioning Western museology.
In Who Holds the Gaze?, the project is presented within a broader artistic practice engaging with museum collections, including the National Gallery in London, the British Museum, the museums of Marseille, and the National Museum of Beirut. Rather than viewing the museum as a neutral space of preservation, the talk approaches it as a site of power and responsibility, where contemporary art can create moments of care, tension, and reawakening.
Ali Cherri (born in Beirut, lives and works in Paris). His practice explores archaeology and museology to interrogate the political narratives embedded in objects, working across sculpture, film, installation, and performance. Recent solo exhibitions include Les Veilleurs ([mac] Musée d’art contemporain de Marseille, 2025), How I Am Monument (Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, 2025; Vienna Secession, 2024), ENVISAGEMENT (Institut Giacometti, 2024), and Dreamless Night (Frac Bretagne, 2024; GAMeC, 2023). A major monographic exhibition is forthcoming at WIELS in 2026. His work has been shown internationally at institutions including the Centre Pompidou, MAXXI Rome, Swiss Institute New York, National Gallery London, Jameel Arts Centre Dubai, and in major biennials such as Venice (2022), Sharjah (2017, 2023), and Kochi-Muziris (2022). In 2022, he received the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale.
The lecture will take place in our Conference Room, admission is free with a reservation on Eventbrite. Click HERE to book your place.
The lecture will be broadcast via streaming on the Museum's YouTube channel.
Returning the Gaze is a project developed in close dialogue over more than a year with the Museo Egizio in Turin, born from an encounter with fragmented ancient Egyptian artefacts whose missing eyes reveal both damage and silencing. Through gilded bronze prosthetic eyes, the work seeks to transform the museum’s one-directional gaze into a reciprocal relationship, drawing on ancient rituals of reactivation while questioning Western museology.
In Who Holds the Gaze?, the project is presented within a broader artistic practice engaging with museum collections, including the National Gallery in London, the British Museum, the museums of Marseille, and the National Museum of Beirut. Rather than viewing the museum as a neutral space of preservation, the talk approaches it as a site of power and responsibility, where contemporary art can create moments of care, tension, and reawakening.
Ali Cherri (born in Beirut, lives and works in Paris). His practice explores archaeology and museology to interrogate the political narratives embedded in objects, working across sculpture, film, installation, and performance. Recent solo exhibitions include Les Veilleurs ([mac] Musée d’art contemporain de Marseille, 2025), How I Am Monument (Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, 2025; Vienna Secession, 2024), ENVISAGEMENT (Institut Giacometti, 2024), and Dreamless Night (Frac Bretagne, 2024; GAMeC, 2023). A major monographic exhibition is forthcoming at WIELS in 2026. His work has been shown internationally at institutions including the Centre Pompidou, MAXXI Rome, Swiss Institute New York, National Gallery London, Jameel Arts Centre Dubai, and in major biennials such as Venice (2022), Sharjah (2017, 2023), and Kochi-Muziris (2022). In 2022, he received the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale.
The lecture will take place in our Conference Room, admission is free with a reservation on Eventbrite. Click HERE to book your place.
The lecture will be broadcast via streaming on the Museum's YouTube channel.
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
From Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
