Three 1960s photographs by Algerian photographer Lazhar Mansouri are on view in Vive la mariée !, organized by the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. The exhibition explores marriage as a vibrant and evolving social ritual across the Maghreb. Bringing together approximately forty historic costumes and adornments from Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian collections with works by 27 contemporary artists from the region and its diasporas, the exhibition examines the traditions, symbolism, craftsmanship, and communal practices surrounding marriage.
Throughout the mid-20th century, Mansouri operated a photography studio in the back of a grocery store in Aïn Beïda (Aurés Mountains region, Northern Algeria). The photographs on view, on loan from Westwood Gallery NYC, testify to the complex attitudes towards documenting marriage and displaying affection within a society that was simultaneously rooted in tradition and undergoing deep cultural changes.
Vive la mariée !
INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE, PARIS
September 29 – February 28, 2026
