Turning Points: An Interview with Mariane Ibrahim
Mariane Ibrahim, 2023. Photo © Brigitte Lacombe
By Mariane Ibrahim, founder of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago
Born on the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia to Somali parents, gallerist Mariane Ibrahim grew up between France and Somalia and moved to the U.S. in 2010. She founded M.I.A. Gallery in Seattle two years later with a program centered on artists of the African diaspora. In 2019 she relocated to Chicago and opened the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, which now has outposts in Paris and Mexico City.
A vital partner of Villa Albertine, Ibrahim has collaborated with residents across the country, including Raphaël Barontini, whose 2024 residency in New Orleans traced the visual and sonic creativity of Creole culture; Olukemi Lijadu, the artist and DJ whose 2024 residency mapped the links between West African music and Chicago house; and artist Clémence Gbonon, who will explore African American history and culture during a 2026 residency in Chicago.
What does Villa Albertine represent in Chicago?
MARIANE IBRAHIM Villa Albertine in Chicago is, above all, a space for collaboration and exchange. We’ve had the tremendous opportunity to meet residents, welcome them into our community, and learn from theirs. It’s a place of encounters and dialogue, bringing together artists, researchers, and thinkers from highly diverse backgrounds. Villa Albertine embodies a strong, living bond between France and the United States—one rooted in curiosity, transmission, and shared creation.
Could you share a memory or an accomplishment linked to Villa Albertine’s residency program?
We’ve met residents in Chicago whose time here marked a turning point in their careers. Some later reached out to develop new projects with us—a sign of the lasting impact of their residency.
What moves me most is the transformative dimension of the experience: the way a residency at Villa Albertine can nourish, shift, and enrich an artistic practice.
As someone who moves between France and America, how do you see the presence of French artists in the U.S. evolving in the coming years?
The presence of French artists in the U.S. remains relatively modest, partly because there are so few French galleries here and because the French curatorial scene has limited visibility. But a new generation of artists is emerging—more connected, more daring, and adept at using digital platforms to catch the attention of American galleries and institutions. Their more fluid, international approach suggests that the French presence will steadily grow in the years ahead.
Interview by Raphaël Bourgois
Mariane Ibrahim is the founder of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, which has outposts in Chicago, Mexico City, and Paris.
This interview first appeared in States, the annual magazine of Villa Albertine, published in January 2026.
