Zahia Rahmani

Zahia Rahmani
زاهية رحمانى
Born1962
Algeria
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)Art curator, novelist

Zahia Rahmani (born 1962) is a French-Algerian author, curator, and art historian.[1]

Early life

Rahmani was born in Algeria in 1962 and is of Berber heritage. She spoke only Kabyle until she was five-years old and her family migrated to France in 1967. Rahmani's father was a Harki.[1] Rahmani and her family spent six months in the Saint-Maurice de l'Ardoise camp for repatriated Harkis and their families.[2][3] With the help of some French friends, the family settled in Beauvais.[3] Rahmani's older brother died in 1971.[3]

Books

Rahmani is the author of a trilogy of novels that explore themes of banishment and alienation.[4] The first in this series is her 2003 work Moze deals with Harki identity and her father's 1991 suicide.[3] Rahmani's 2005 semi-autobiographical work Musulman, Roman (Muslim: a Novel) explores the stereotypes surrounding Muslim identity in France and issues surrounding immigration.[1][5] Muslim: a Novel was the 2020 winner of the Albertine Prize.[6] The final work in this trilogy is her memoir France récit d’une enfance (France, story of a childhood).[4][7][8]

Art curation

Rahmani is director of the Research Program on Art and Globalization at the Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art.[9][4] She created the graduate research program at École Nationale des Beaux-Arts and was director from 1999 to 2002.[9][4] She was the curator of the exhibit Made in Algeria, Genealogy of a Territory which was showcased at the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean until May 2016.[10] Rahmani curated Seismography of Struggle, a collection of non-European cultural and critical journals.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Who's a Muslim?". France-Amérique. 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  2. ^ Ivey, Beatrice. "Saint-Maurice-l'Ardoise Harki Camp – Pieds-Noirs". Pied Noirs. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  3. ^ a b c d "Zahia Rahmani". Evene.fr (in French). Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  4. ^ a b c d "Zahia Rahmani - INHA". INHA. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  5. ^ ""Muslim": A Novel by Zahia Rahmani". World Literature Today. 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  6. ^ "Independent journalism cooperative Brick House has launched; Zahia Rahmani awarded the 2020 Albertine Prize". Book Forum. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  7. ^ "France, story of a childhood". French Culture.
  8. ^ "Book Review: "France: Story of a Childhood" -- A Timely Memoir of Liberation". The Arts Fuse. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  9. ^ a b "Zahia Rahman". NYU Gallatin.
  10. ^ "Made in Algeria". Ibraaz. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  11. ^ "Seismography of Struggle". The Gallatin Galleries. 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2022-06-02.