Médina de Tunis hosts Becoming the Ocean from 24 October

Médina de Tunis will host the exhibition Becoming the Ocean from 24 October to 22 November 2026, bringing a major contemporary art project to Tunis. The presentation at Quechlet El Attarine marks the first time that the Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement has been held outside Geneva.

Becoming the Ocean brings BIM 26 to Tunis on 24 October

The exhibition is part of the eighth edition of Jaou Tunis and is being produced by the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève and the Kamel Lazaar Foundation. The programme in Tunis will include sixteen newly commissioned works by artists from Africa, the Arab world, Asia, Latin America and their diasporas, according to the announcement of the dates and venue.

Becoming the Ocean is directed by Lina Lazaar and Andrea Bellini. The exhibition will be accompanied by a public programme, while a two-day symposium is scheduled at Le Rio on 26 and 27 October 2026. Its four strands are listed as international order, memory, intelligence and truth. The exhibition will later continue to Geneva, Venice, Brussels and London, as reported in the international exhibition notice.

A nineteenth-century barracks frames the Tunis exhibition

Quechlet El Attarine, also called the El Attarine barracks, is a former Ottoman military building from the nineteenth century. It stands within the historic urban fabric and gives the exhibition a venue whose earlier military use remains part of the setting.

UNESCO describes the wider site as a historic urban property with about 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains. The protected area covers approximately 280 hectares and includes the central medina and northern and southern suburbs, according to the UNESCO World Heritage entry. The exhibition therefore places newly commissioned moving-image works inside a district whose architectural identity developed across many centuries.

UNESCO traces the city's importance as an Arabo-Muslim centre to the seventh century and notes that Tunis became especially influential under the Almohads and Hafsids from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. The protected ensemble retains its urban fabric, souqs, gates, religious buildings and residential quarters.

Visiting Médina de Tunis: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Becoming the Ocean runs from 24 October to 22 November 2026 at Quechlet El Attarine in the historic district.
• The exhibition is presented as part of Jaou Tunis, with a public programme and a symposium at Le Rio on 26 and 27 October 2026.
• Quechlet El Attarine is in central Tunis, within the medina's narrow historic streets and pedestrian routes. The event information identifies the venue but does not name a particular station or transport line.
• The wider site contains narrow streets, souqs and historic buildings, so visits involve walking through an old urban quarter rather than a single modern museum complex.
• Arabic is Tunisia's official language and the national currency is the Tunisian dinar.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Médina de Tunis

When does Becoming the Ocean take place at Médina de Tunis?

The exhibition runs from 24 October to 22 November 2026 at Quechlet El Attarine. A related symposium is scheduled for 26 and 27 October 2026.

What is Médina de Tunis?

It is the historic urban property of Tunis, a protected ensemble containing about 700 monuments across approximately 280 hectares.

Where is Médina de Tunis and how do you get there?

It is in central Tunis, and the exhibition venue is Quechlet El Attarine within the district's historic street network. The published event information does not specify a particular station or city transport line.