Artworks

Mission

KADIST is a non-profit contemporary art organization that believes artists make an important contribution to a progressive society through their artwork, which often addresses key issues relevant to the present day. Dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists—from more than one hundred countries—represented in its collection, KADIST affirms contemporary art’s role within social discourse, and facilitates new connections across cultures. Its local hubs in Paris and San Francisco organize exhibitions, physical and online programs, and host residencies. KADIST stays apprised of developments in contemporary art via a global advisor network, and develops collaborations internationally, including with leading museums, fostering vibrant conversations about contemporary art and society.


English / Français / Mandarin / Español

KADIST is operated in France by an endowment fund called “AKAT – KADIST” and in the United States by two 501c3 called “Artnow International, Inc” and “KADIST Collection Manager, Inc.”

ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS

GLOBAL NETWORKS

We support a decentralized field of contemporary art through nurturing connections between artists and curators from various nations and cultures. Through our collaborations across five continents, we’ve recognized that some of the most important artistic voices are to be found beyond our own US and European localities. We co-produce exhibitions in cities as diverse as Cairo, Bangkok or Mexico City, through curatorial collaborations in order to responsibly address the complexity of local cultures.

 

DOUBLE TAKES

KADIST’s collection includes over 800 media artworks, most of which are videos. Over the last 20 years KADIST has developed extensive experience in collecting and presenting video art. With the creation of KADIST.tv in 2022, KADIST deepened its long-running commitment to this artistic medium, which has often been overlooked in conventional collections. KADIST’s ongoing “Double Takes” program of collaborations with art centers celebrates the increasingly important place of film and video in contemporary art. This international program puts moving-image from the collection in dialogue with local contributions from a ­­partner institution, presented as public screenings and exhibitions, and shared on KADIST.tv.

KEY ISSUES

KADIST programs often highlight a key issue, through presenting the voices of artists who respond to the urgent social and political forces of our time. We recognize artists as some of the most inventive and progressively committed thinkers—celebrating difference and personal expression. While some of the work presented at KADIST may have sensitive sexual, political or religious content, artists must have the freedom to address even the most controversial topics.

EXHIBITION EXCHANGE

Since 2013 KADIST has been involved in a variety of institutional collaborations around the world—from Bogotá to New Delhi, from London to Cleveland. Most take the form of exhibitions, and involve curatorial collaborations, pairing one curator from the KADIST network with a curator at a partner institution. In order to work more deeply amid the context of various regional cultures, KADIST has established offices in Mexico and China, each led by a local Associate Director and advised by a lead curator in the region. While the form of collaboration will continue to evolve, the goal of this expanded network is to facilitate cultural exchange, commission new artworks, and develop ongoing relationships in each region.

COLLECTION ARTISTS

The collection serves as a starting point and resource for our programs. Artists are nominated by a worldwide network of advisors, and artworks are selected through a democratic process. This is our primary means of discovering new artists, some of whom are without gallery representation, and the collection provides them initial support. With over 2,200 artworks representing 1,400 artists, the collection serves as a research aid, identifying a transnational group of artists in the vast landscape of the contemporary artworld.

 

NOMADIC COLLECTION

In 2023, KADIST launched the “Nomadic Collection” program as the next step in building a distributed and network-driven institution. Every 3 to 5 years, this new form of collaboration makes part of the KADIST collection available, via a multi-year loan, to a leading museum, for exhibition and educational programs. This series is inaugurated with the Centre Pompidou (Paris, France) in 2023 and the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (Brazil) in 2024. With this initiative, KADIST facilitates new connections and exchanges across cultures, ensuring the collection is renewed and relevant for generations to come.

Team

PARIS

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Anna Ezequel
Program Manager

Pierre-Antoine Lalande
Communications Manager

Joséphine Givodan
Collection Manager

Camille Krauss
Gallery Coordinator

Alexia Demars
Communications Assistant

Jordan Holms
Collection Assistant

Ella Marder
Program Director, Résidence Tallard

SAN FRANCISCO

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Jo-ey Tang
Director

Shona Mei Findlay
Curator of Asia Programs & Communications

Joe Melamed
Production 

Lauren Pirritano
Collection Manager

Lindsay Albert
Program Manager

Emma-Caitlin Cooper
Gallery Coordinator & Interim Communications Manager

Ziying Duan
Social Media for China

GLOBAL

Vincent Worms*
President and co-founder

Joseph del Pesco*
International Director

Marie Martraire*
Collection Director

Sandra Terdjman*
Vice-president, co-founder of KADIST and AFIELD

Yuan Fuca
Associate Program Director for China

Allegra Cordero di Montezemolo
Associate Program Director for Latin America

*denotes members of the KADIST Steering Committee

ADVISORS

ASIA

Zoe Butt
Curator, writer and founder of in-tangible institute, Chiang Mai

Cosmin Costinas
Senior Curator, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin

Hyunjin Kim
Independent Curator, Seoul

Philippe Pirotte
Professor, Staedelschule, Frankfurt and Sanur

Elodie Royer
Independent Curator, Paris

David Teh
Independent Curator and Associate Professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Shaleen Wadhwana
Independent Researcher, Curator, and Arts Educator, Delhi

Xiaoyu Weng
Curator and writer, New York

 

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Aude Christel Mgba
Independent Curator, Cameroon and the Netherlands

Azu Nwagbogu
Curator, Director of African Artists’ Foundation, Lagos

Christine Tohmé
Curator, founding director of Ashkal Alwan – The Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, Beirut

EUROPE

Sergio Edelsztein
Curator, Founding Director of Center of Contemporary Art Tel Aviv, Berlin

Jeremy Lewison
Independent Curator, formerly Director of Collections, Tate, London

Rozenn Prat
Art Historian and Professor of Visual Arts, Paris

Jean-Marc Prévost
Director, Carré d’Art – Museum of Contemporary Art, Nîmes

Émilie Villez
Independent Curator, Paris

 

LATIN AMERICA

Fernanda Brenner
Artistic Director, Pivô, São Paulo

Miguel A. López
Independent Curator, Lima

Doreen Rios
Independent Curator, Mexico

Emiliano Valdes
Chief Curator, Medellín Museum of Modern Art, Medellín

NORTH AMERICA

Devon Bella
Independent Curator, San Francisco

Kate Fowle
Curator, New York

Prem Krishnamurthy
Founder & Director, Department of Transformation

Barbara London
Independent Curator, formerly Curator of Media and Performance at MoMA, New York

Lawrence Rinder
Independent Curator, and former Director, UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, California

Kitty Scott
Curator, Toronto

 

SPECIAL ADVISOR

Hans Ulrich Obrist
Artistic director, Serpentine Galleries, London