Lebanon-born, Paris-based artist and composer Tarek Atoui has won the 2022 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize. The biennial award includes $200,000, a scholarly publication, and a solo exhibition that will open at The Contemporary Austin’s downtown location in spring 2022 and travel to the FLAG Art Foundation in New York.

Atoui’s ethnomusicological practice is multidisciplinary and collaborative, bringing together sound engineers, instrument makers, musicians, and local communities to create installations and live performances. “In such unprecedented times, the museum is grateful to have the opportunity to support Atoui and his collaborators as they continue to create different ways of experiencing art and sound to several communities. His sensitivity to place through research and collaboration are perfect for our times,” said Heather Pesanti, the Contemporary’s chief curator and director.

Atoui’s selection committee comprised Pesanti, University of Chicago art historian Darby English, Los Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan, Chinati Foundation curator Ingrid Schaffner, Tate Modern senior curator Catherine Wood, and FLAG director Stephanie Roach. “Tarek Atoui: Cycles in 11” will open at the UAE’s Sharjah Art Foundation this fall. In 2021, the artist’s work will be included in the 13th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea.