Mohamed Almusibli, Director and Chief Curator, Kunsthalle Basel
Mohamed Almusibli
Director and Chief Curator, Kunsthalle Basel
in conversation with
Laura Bardier
Founder and Director, ESTE ARTE
By invitation only. In English, without translation.
This program is made possible thanks to the support of Clarice O. Tavares.
To commission a work is to commit to something that does not yet exist. It means giving an artist the space to take a risk, the gallery the trust to explore, and accepting that the outcome cannot be fully known. At ESTE CHARLAS, Mohamed Almusibli, Director and Chief Curator of Kunsthalle Basel, joins Laura Bardier, Director of ESTE ARTE, to discuss what commissioning actually entails: how institutions initiate new work, how artists respond to that invitation, and what responsibilities emerge on both sides throughout the process. The conversation also speaks directly to ESTE ARTE, where galleries are invited to present new works conceived for the fair. Rather than assembling what already exists, the model asks artists and galleries to begin with possibility — making production itself part of the exhibition. Almusibli has developed his curatorial practice across independent spaces and major European institutions. Before joining Kunsthalle Basel, he co-founded and directed Cherish in Geneva and advised the Hartwig Art Foundation in Amsterdam. At Kunsthalle Basel, he has curated exhibitions and projects with artists including Shuang Li and Coumba Samba, as well as Regionale 27 in collaboration with Diana Campbell and other curators.
Mohamed Almusibli (b. 1990, Geneva) is a Swiss curator and the Director and Chief Curator of Kunsthalle Basel, one of Europe’s leading institutions for contemporary art, a position he has held since March 2024. His curatorial practice focuses on emerging and experimental artistic positions, interdisciplinary approaches, and the intersection of contemporary art and new technologies, fostering dialogue between local and international artistic communities. In 2019, he co-founded Cherish, an independent, nonprofit exhibition space in Geneva dedicated to emerging artists and experimental practices. He previously served as an advisor to the Hartwig Art Foundation in Amsterdam and taught at ECAL in Lausanne. He has also developed projects for the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, including Almusibli Panorama, an innovative moving-image program. Since 2026, Almusibli has served on the Swiss Federal Art Commission and the Artistic Committee of Mécènes du Sud. His international engagements include the 2027 Infinities Commission at Tate Modern, the Dhaka Art Summit, and La Becque Artist Residency. He regularly contributes to publications, exhibitions, and international curatorial juries. His leadership at Kunsthalle Basel is distinguished by an artist-centered vision that champions new artistic voices and expands the possibilities of contemporary exhibition-making.