Featuring… is a conceptual, participatory art project by Nadia Kaabi‑Linke, developed during her one-month residency in Tunis in 2024 at the invitation of the exhibition space La Boîte – Center for Art and Architecture in Tunis. The project fundamentally redefines roles within the art field, shifting the dynamic between viewers and artists, and operates on the conviction that every human is inherently creative.
Central to the work is the idea that the distinction between “artists” and “non-artists” lies in memory—specifically, in whether one retains the creative spark discovered during childhood, or allows it to be suppressed by the belief that one lacks talent. In this framework, the artist is deliberately avoiding claiming authorship, instead adopting roles such as instrument, mediator, co‑creator, or performer.
Rather than presenting her own creations, Kaabi‑Linke invited six company employees from different sectors, such as pharmaceutical research laboratories, accounting, engineering, and logistics, to formulate their own creative ideas, which she then realized on their behalf. The participants thus function as authors, while she acts as their tool, like “a brush in the hands of a painter.”
This collaborative process embraced inclusivity and accessibility: for example, one performance’s text was translated into Braille in partnership with the Ibsar association for persons with visual impairment; Life Kitchen featured multilingual dialogue in Arabic; and participants took on roles ranging from cook to performer. Kaabi‑Linke’s approach positions her as a facilitator and enabler, rather than as a traditional, solitary creator.
In sum, Featuring… is a radical interrogation of authorship, identity, and creativity, challenging conventional hierarchies in the art world and reclaiming each participant’s innate creative capacities.
