Bani Abidi: Reserved
Thu, May 29
|MoMA PS1
Bani Abidi: Reserved runs May 10 – August 25, 2025, at MoMA PS1. A quiet, choreographed reflection on nationalism, pageantry, and authoritarian stillness.
Time & Location
May 29, 2025, 7:00 AM – Aug 25, 2025, 11:00 PM
MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave, Queens, NY 11101, USA
About the event
From May 10 to August 25, 2025, MoMA PS1 presents Reserved, a resonant video work by Bani Abidi (Pakistani, b. 1971), on view for the first time since entering the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Part of an ongoing collaboration between MoMA and MoMA PS1, this presentation brings renewed focus to Abidi’s 2006 film, which captures the anticipatory silence surrounding political spectacle.
Set in a fictional city gripped by the imminent arrival of an unknown dignitary, Reserved follows schoolchildren holding flags, vehicles halted behind barricades, and functionaries scrambling to prepare—all while a motorcade glides through eerily quiet streets. Though seemingly documentary in form, the film is meticulously staged, drawn from Abidi’s memories of state pageantry as a child in Karachi.
Exhibition highlights:
A cinematic portrait of power and passivity, ritual and performance
Exploration of nationalism through mundane gestures and enforced silence
A choreographed fiction masquerading as documentary