LONDON.- Tate and Hyundai Motor Company today announce that Tarek Atoui will create the next annual Hyundai Commission. Tarek Atoui is an artist and composer celebrated for his innovative performances and installations that explore and challenge traditional perceptions of the medium of sound. Open to the public from 13 October 2026 to 11 April 2027, his new site-specific work for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall will be the 11th in the series of commissions supported by Hyundai Motor.
Born in Beirut in 1980, Atoui lives and works in Paris, France. Drawing on his extensive research into music history, instrumentation and production, the artist creates multisensory environments that re-think how we understand and experience sound. Central to his practice is the invention of intricately engineered instruments, made in collaboration with other artists, composers and makers, which double as sculptural objects. Often featuring organic elements such as glass, water and ceramics, these custom-made and imaginatively rethought instruments are activated by touch, breath and motors. Atoui combines the resulting music with environmental recordings from various geographical locations and computer-generated sounds to create immersive installations and collaborative performances. Expanding the idea of sound beyond hearing, his work investigates how 'listening' can be experienced through multiple senses, including tactile and visual forms of perception.
Catherine Wood, Interim Director of Tate Modern, said: “Tarek Atoui has captivated audiences internationally with his boundary-pushing approach to sound. Blending music, technology, sculpture and performance, he is a truly cross-disciplinary artist whose work references current social, historical and political realities. Architectural space plays an important role in Atoui’s ongoing investigation into sound and vibration, and we can’t wait to see how he engages with audiences within the public space of Tate Modern's iconic Turbine Hall."
DooEun Choi, Art Director of Hyundai Motor Company said: “Tarek Atoui sculpts sound, creating a tangible sensory experience that unites musical instruments, physical spaces, and the audience. For the eleventh Hyundai Commission, we look forward to how his radically collaborative and experimental approach will bring people together for a shared reflection on our contemporary world."
Over the past decade, the annual Hyundai Commission has welcomed over 19 million visitors. Each year an artist is invited to create a new work in the vast industrial space of the Turbine Hall, reshaping public perceptions of contemporary art. The Hyundai Commission is made possible by the long-term partnership between Tate and Hyundai Motor, launched in 2014 as the longest initial commitment from a corporate partner in Tate’s history. Announced last year and now continuing until 2036, the extension of the partnership underscores a shared, long-term commitment to artistic innovation and public access to contemporary art.
Tarek Atoui (b.1980, Beirut, Lebanon) is a sound artist based in Paris, France. He received a BA in sound art and electro-acoustic music from the French National Conservatory of Reims, France in 1998. He has exhibited and presented performances at major institutions globally, including at TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Madrid, Spain (2025); HangarBicocca, Milan, Italy (2025); S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium (2024); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (2023); the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal (2022 and 2018); Bourse du Commerce- Pinault Collection, Paris, France (2021); Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE (2020); the 58th Venice Biennale, Italy (2019); Tate Modern, London (2016); Serpentine Gallery, London, UK (2012); and dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel, Germany (2012). His work is held in prestigious international collections, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; New York, USA; Saradar Collection, Beirut, Lebanon; Tate, London, UK; and the Pinault Collection, Paris, France. He was awarded the Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize in 2022.
