Filmmaker and installation artist Isaac Julien was born in 1960 in London, where he currently lives and works. His multi-screen film installations and photographs incorporate varied artistic disciplines to create a poetic and unique visual language.

His 1989 documentary-drama exploring author Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, titled Looking for Langston, garnered Julien a cult following. His 1991 debut feature Young Soul Rebels won the Semaine de la Critique prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His most recent film Ten Thousand Waves premiered at the 2010 Sydney Biennale and has gone on to be exhibited at venues throughout the world.

Julien’s work is held in collections including: Tate Modern, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC.

Julien has participated in the Venice Biennale (2009); the 7th Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2008); Prospect 1, New Orleans (2008); and Performa 07, New York. He has had one-person exhibitions at: the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Boston (2011); L’Atelier Hermès, Seoul (2011); Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2011); The Bass Museum, Miami (2010); the Helsinki Festival, Kunsthalle Helsinki (2010); Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2008); Kestnergesellschart, Hannover, (2006) the Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2005); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2005); and Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2005).