Photo : LALLA RAMI
The Ogresses' Ball
Step into a world where ancient folklore meets modern art in a gripping exploration of female power. Through the lens of legendary ogres from the Mediterranean, this exhibition reveals the multifaceted and rebellious spirit behind these iconic figures.
Institut des Cultures d'Islam (ICI) (Paris 18th)
About
The Institut des Cultures d’Islam presents Le bal des Ogresses, an exhibition dedicated to the legendary figures of Aïcha Kandisha and other mythological ogresses from the Mediterranean region. Curated by Sonia Recasens, the project showcases thirteen female artists who explore themes of identity, femininity, and memory through ancestral storytelling. This exhibition is free to the public and runs from September 30, 2026, until February 7, 2027. Visitors are welcome from Wednesday to Sunday. It is a compelling opportunity to engage with these powerful, transgressive figures within the newly renovated spaces of the ICI in Paris.
On the occasion of the Mediterranean Season supported by the Institut français, the ICI team continues its partnership with guest curator Sonia Recasens – initiated in 2024 with L’esprit du geste, the inaugural exhibition of the renovated ICI Léon spaces. This time, she accompanies her new project, which takes as its starting point the legends surrounding Aïcha Kandisha, to explore the numerous figures of ogresses that populate the imaginations of the Mediterranean rim and beyond.
The exhibition The Ogresses' Ball shifts the gaze from the fear inspired by Aïcha Kandisha to what is revealed by the stories that forged her myth. Ogresses and goddesses, monstrous and seductive, maternal and devouring, protective and malevolent: Aïcha Kandisha and her sister figures become the prism for an exploration of the intimate, the body, and collective memory. These hybrid and transgressive creatures crystallize fears surrounding the night, femininity, and sexuality.
From pre-Islamic mythologies to Sufi ceremonies, from Amazigh tales to Mesopotamian legends, thirteen female artists from different generations and geographies make heard at the ICI the voices of those who recount the ogresses and claim them. They question the paradoxes of these figures, as feared as they are venerated, objects of desire and terror, which through the power of orality escape any fixed representation.
The artists
Khadija El Abyad, Rim Battal, Amina Benbouchta, Imane Elkabli, Lucile Gautier, Nadira Husain, Saodat Ismailova, Kubra Khademi, Rim Mejdi, LALLA RAMI, Lynn S.K., Silina Syan, and Nil Yalter.
About the curator
Sonia Recasens (1985, France) is an art historian, art critic, and independent exhibition curator. She develops an engaged, sensitive, and intuitive critical and curatorial practice, exploring issues related to the intimate, the body, memory, and migration. Winner of the Jury's Special Prize – AICA France Prize 2019, Sonia Recasens regularly collaborates with art centers, museums, and publishing houses for publications, lectures, or exhibitions. Among her recent exhibitions: L’esprit du geste, 2024 (ICI, Paris); Aïta, fragments poétiques d’une scène marocaine, 2025 (Frac Méca Nouvelle Aquitaine, Bordeaux).
Our take on this event
As part of the Season of the Mediterranean, the Institut des Cultures d’Islam invites curator Sonia Recasens to examine the complex myths surrounding ogresses. By focusing on Aïcha Kandisha, the exhibition reveals how these figures—simultaneously feared and revered—have shaped cultural imaginaries. Thirteen artists from diverse backgrounds present works that draw upon Amazigh tales, Mesopotamian legends, and Sufi ceremonies, challenging static representations of the female body and sexuality.
The exhibition is open from September 30, 2026, to February 7, 2027. You can visit from Wednesday to Sunday, between 12:00 and 19:00. Please be aware that the center is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and public holidays. Entrance is free for all individual visitors. For groups of 8 people or more, free admission is also provided. Additionally, a public opening event will take place on Friday, September 25, from 18:00 to 23:00, subject to venue capacity.
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