The Circle: Timeline for a Constellation, Bouchra Khalili

The Circle: Timeline for a Constellation concludes Bouchra Khalili’s ten-year investigation into the Arab Workers Movement (MTA), focusing on its theatre troupes, Al Assifa (the tempest) and Al Halaka (the circle, the assembly). Formed by undocumented North African workers in France (1973-1978), the MTA’s theatre groups were central elements in Khalili’s works The Tempest Society (2017) and the book of the same title (Book Works, 2019), the sound piece An Audio Family Album (2020) and the multi-screen film installations The Circle, and The Storytellers (2023) and The Public Storyteller (2024).

The publication brings together archival materials, chronological elements, essays, interviews with members of Al Assifa and Al Halaka, performers from The Circle, and a contribution and conversations with the artist. This ‘constellated’ examination highlights the MTA theatre troupes’ pioneering exploration of emancipatory belonging, agency, and artistic expression as fundamental human rights. These experiments culminated in the 1974 presidential candidacy of Djellali Kamal, an anonymous member of Al Assifa. Despite remaining anonymous, Kamal’s candidacy symbolized the potential for a new, egalitarian community, brought to life through performance.

This publication invites a new generation of readers to reflect on the lasting legacy of Al Assifa and Al Halaka, exploring how performance and storytelling can harness transformative civic power.