Maëlle Tocaben (b. in Ambilly in 1999) collects stories, images, and objects, which she relocates and reassembles. She examines the boundary between the artwork and its setting, and explores curatorial practices in everyday spaces.
Based in Lille, she co-founded IFA, a collective supporting the contemporary cultural scene in Northern France, and CART (Cycling Artists Research Team), an initiative developing itinerant residencies in collaboration with Flemish structures.
collective exhibitions (selection)
2026 Common Grounds – Le Camion – Roubaix – curated by CART
2026 Common Grounds – 019 – Gent – curated by CART
2026 Summer Camp 2.1 – Dharma Initiatives – Plasoiu – curated by Pharmakon Gallery
2026 Survival Strategy – INVITRO Gallery – Cluj Napoca – curated by Marco Verhoogt
2026 Last year was tomorrow – Saisons Zéro – Roubaix – curated by IFA
2026 Nuage Vert – Centre Arc-en-Ciel – Liévin – curated by Thierry Verbeke
2025 IFAST#1 – La Brat Cave – Lille – curated by IFA
2025 T-Dog 3000 – Galerie Commune – Tourcoing
2024 independant art fair Platform Projects – Tobacco Factory – Athens
2024 Imprimante Fumiste Antique – Delta Studio – Roubaix – curated by IFA
2024 #Well24 – Louvre-Lens – Lens
2024 Tipping Point: what if? – Galerie Commune – Tourcoing
2023 Audio Room – Gerrit Rietveld Academy – Amsterdam – curated by Bette Adriaanse
residencies
2026 Off Season – 019 – Gent (Belgium)
2026 Summer Camp 2.1 – Institut Français de Roumanie X Stol collective and Pharmakon Gallery – Bucarest (Romania)
education
2023-25 MA in Art (with honors)
Ecole Supérieure d’Art – Tourcoing
2023-24 Preparatory course
Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains – Tourcoing
2018-23 B.A. in Art and Design
Gerrit Rietveld Academy – Amsterdam
2021-22 Exchange program in Art and Visual Communication
Ar.Co – Lisbon
2017-18 Preparatory course in Fine Arts
Ecole Supérieure d’Art Annecy Alpes – Annecy
