The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac opens its doors to an artist who has become one of the most striking voices in the contemporary scene: Hoda Afshar. Born in Tehran in 1983 and now based in Australia, this photographer and visual artist develops work in which the image becomes a tool for reflection on power, identity, and memory. Her exhibition Performing the Invisible, shown for the first time in France, is a major event in the Parisian cultural season.
Reserving a ticket for this exhibition is your opportunity to discover a singular body of work that makes colonial history, popular beliefs, and contemporary issues speak to one another.
The exhibition questions photography and its role in constructing representations. Images have always shaped how individuals and cultures are perceived. Hoda Afshar chooses to revisit inherited images from the past, to reveal their biases, but also to give them new life in a new form.
Through her works, she illuminates the tensions between what is visible and what is deliberately hidden, between what is told and what is erased. The visitor is invited to enter a world where art exceeds aesthetics to become an act of resistance and reinterpretation of the world.
Two major installations structure the exhibition’s path:
Photographs, drawings, videos, mirrors and sound installations combine to offer an immersive and sensitive journey.
The spatial design was developed by Studio Je Formule, in collaboration with the artist herself and the Milani Gallery of Brisbane. The result is a fluid path where each gallery becomes a visual and auditory experience. Contrasts between silence and sound, darkness and light, create an atmosphere conducive to contemplation and reflection.
This scenographic approach turns the visit into a true inner journey, where each person can find their own resonance with the themes addressed.
The exhibition takes place in the Galerie Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. Located just a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower, the museum is one of the capital’s most remarkable cultural spaces, known for its collections and exhibits that celebrate the diversity of world cultures.
Choosing to attend this exhibition also means enjoying a unique place that offers privileged views over Paris and a rich program always anchored in current artistic and societal issues.
Dates: from 30 September 2025 to 25 January 2026.
Hours:
These wide hours allow everyone to find an ideal time to see the exhibition, whether during the day or in the evening.
Booking online is strongly encouraged to avoid queues and guarantee access at your desired date. Given the interest raised by this first French solo exhibition, certain periods are likely to sell out. Reserving early is therefore a wise choice to not miss anything.
The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac makes a point of making its exhibitions accessible to as many people as possible. Performing the Invisible is adapted for visitors with motor, auditory, visual, or cognitive disabilities. Specific devices and guided tours in French Sign Language (LSF) are offered to guarantee an inclusive experience.
This commitment to openness confirms the exhibition’s universal dimension, designed to reach all sensitivities.
Beyond the exhibition, a special event will be held: a meeting with Hoda Afshar and Annabelle Lacour, the exhibition’s curator. This encounter, scheduled for 1 October 2025 in the Jacques Kerchache Reading Room, will offer a rare opportunity to exchange directly with the artist about her inspirations and creative process.
Attending Performing the Invisible is much more than a simple visit: it is a moment of reflection on the power of images, the memory of peoples, and how art can reveal the invisible. This exhibition, the first of its kind in France, promises to be a key moment of the Parisian cultural season.
Reserving your tickets today ensures your place at a unique artistic event, in an emblematic museum in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
With Hoda Afshar. Performing the Invisible, the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac offers an immersive and intellectual experience that will leave no visitor indifferent. The exhibition weaves together history, contemporary art, and critical reflection, while opening up new perspectives on what images can say—or suppress.
Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity to discover an international artist who transforms the photographic act into a political and poetic gesture. Get your tickets now and dive into a world where the invisible finally takes form.
