On 8 April 2026, during the opening of Art Paris, Sara Ouhaddou was awarded the third edition of the BNP Paribas Banque Privée – Un regard sur la scène française Prize.
The prize recognizes the career of a living artist working within the French contemporary art scene while also acknowledging the role of their representing gallery in supporting and promoting their practice. Ouhaddou was selected from a shortlist of sixteen artists nominated as part of the 2026 curated programme Babel-Art et langage en France, conceived by guest curator Loïc Le Gall, Director of Passerelle Centre d'art contemporain, Brest.
Sara Ouhaddou's practice examines language as a system of signs embedded within cultural, social and political histories. Working across sculpture, ceramics, installation and drawing, she explores the circulation of forms, symbols and artisanal knowledge across geographies, with particular attention to processes of transmission, transformation and disappearance. Developed through long-term collaborations with craftspeople—especially in Morocco—her work challenges conventional distinctions between contemporary art and traditional craftsmanship while foregrounding the social and cultural histories embedded within material practices.
The award recognizes both the originality of Ouhaddou's artistic practice and her sustained engagement with collaborative forms of making that foster dialogue between contemporary artistic research and living craft traditions.
