Yto Barrada was born 1971 in Paris, grew up in Tangier, Morocco and now lives and works between New York and Tangier. She studied history and political science at the Sorbonne and photography in New York. Her work – ranging across photographs, films, publications, installations and sculptures – engages with the peculiar situation of her hometown, Tangier. Barrada's work has been shown in, and held in the collections of, major museums around the world including the Tate Modern, London; MoMA, New York; the Guggenheim, Berlin; the Renaissance Society, Chicago; Wiels Art Center, Brussels; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museo de Sao Paolo; and the 2007 and 2011 Venice Biennales. In 2015, she held solo exhibitions at the Serralves Museum, Porto, and Carré d'Art, Nimes. Upcoming 2016 exhibitions include The Power Plant, Toronto; the Secession, Vienna; and M Museum, Leuven.

Barrada's work has won numerous awards including the 2011 Deutsche Guggenheim Artist of the Year award, the 2015 Abraaj Group Art Prize, 2016 Tiger Award for short film and a nomination for the upcoming Prix Marcel Duchamp in Paris.