Amina Menia

Biography

Amina Menia is interested in architecture as an archaeology of the culture and history of a city, as well as the symbolic territory for the frenzies of men and their desire for power. Recently, she has extended her research from heritage to more contemporary political and postcolonial topics.

She creates installations and sculptures that investigate the relations between historical memory, urban space, and architecture. In a series titled ‘Extra Muros’ (2005-ongoing), Menia creates and proposes interventions in historically charged sites around the city of Algiers.

Menia’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland (2013); National Museum of Carthage, Tunisia (2012); Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK (2011); Musée national d’art moderne et contemporain, Algiers (2010) and the Pontevedra Bienal, Spain (2008).

She took part in a long-term residency in the city of Marseilles (2012), working on the common architectural heritage of Algiers and Marseilles through the inspiring figure of the architect Fernand Pouillon.

Menia graduated from Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts of Algiers.

She was born in 1976 in Algiers where she continues to live and work.

SAF participation:
Sharjah Biennial 11