Tarek Atoui Brings the Art of Listening to Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall

Lebanese artist and composer Tarek Atoui will unveil a new site-specific installation in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall on 13 October 2026. Presented as the eleventh Hyundai Commission, the exhibition will run until 11 April 2027, with free public admission.

Born in Beirut in 1980 and based in Paris, Atoui has developed an artistic practice that moves between sound, sculpture, technology and live performance. Working with musicians, artists and specialist makers, he creates experimental instruments using materials such as glass, ceramics and water. These objects function simultaneously as sculptures and as instruments activated through touch, movement and mechanical processes.

Central to Atoui’s work is the idea that sound can be experienced beyond hearing. His installations explore how vibration, physical contact and visual perception shape our understanding of music, often inviting audiences to encounter sound through their bodies as well as their ears.

Atoui’s international career includes participation in dOCUMENTA 13 in 2012 and the Venice Biennale in 2019, alongside exhibitions at Sharjah Art Foundation and other major institutions. His work is also represented in the collections of Tate and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

The Turbine Hall commission marks a return to Tate Modern, where Atoui previously presented work in 2016. The opening programme includes live performances on 16 and 17 October featuring Atoui alongside Emptyset, Mazen Kerbaj, Kenichi Iwasa and Aya Metwalli.

While the installation’s full configuration has yet to be revealed, the commission brings Atoui’s collaborative and experimental approach to one of the most prominent public spaces for contemporary art.

Source: Tate