2024
• Salammbô. De Flaubert à Carthage, Musée National du Bardo, Tunis
• Roots and Modernity: Contemporary Mediterranean Arab Art, Sharjah Art Museum
• Mémoire de générations 1894 - 2004, permanent exhibition produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, MACAM Tunis
2023
•The Future of Traditions - Writing Pictures: Contemporary Art From the Middle East, produced by Rose Issa Porjects, Brunei Gallery SOAS, University of London
• Lettrisme artistique en Tunisie : éclosion et évolution, produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, MACAM Tunis
2022
• Calligraphie & Lettrisme - Calligraphie, Mémoire partagée, Patrimoine vivant et Art pluriel, XVIIIème Sommet de la Francophonie de Djerba. Musée Lalla Hadria - Djerba Explore.
• Arabic Music Days, Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin
2021
• A Tunisian story..., Elmarsa Gallery, Dubai
2019
• Pushing paper: Contemporary drawing from 1970 to now, The British Museum, London
• 4th Baqaa Symposium, Amman Museum, Jordan
2018
• 8th Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, Sharjah, UAE
• Al Musiqa: Voices and Music of the Arab World, Philarmonie de Paris, Cité de la Musique, Paris
• 6èmes Rencontres Victor Segalen, Ecole des filles, Huelgoat, France
2017
• Lettres Ouvertes: From Calligraphy to Street Art, Institut des Cultures de l'Islam, Paris
2016
• Nja Mahdaoui, Jury Member and Guest of honour at the sixth Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial
• Yesterday is tomorrow's memory: a group show of work from North Africa, Elmarsa Gallery, Dubai
• Gateway: (Re) Birth exhibition, curated by Fabrice Bousteau, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi Art
2015
• Treasures of the World's Cultures from The British Museum, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore
• 8th Dubai International Arabic Calligraphy Exhibition, produced by Dubai Culture, Wafi Mall, Dubai
2014
• Mapping Azimuth: Two Calligraphic Ascensions: Nja Mahdaoui & Khaled Ben Slimane, curated by Galerie El Marsa, second Jeddah Art Week, Al Furusiyya Mall, Jeddah
• Word & Illumination, in collaboration with The British Museum, Meridian Exhibition Hall, City of Madinah, Saudi Arabia
• Hommage à Hmida Wahada, Dar Al Founoun, Tunis
2013
• Nun wa al Qalam, Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy, inaugural exhibition, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
• Symbiosis of Two Worlds, curated by Heinz Kroehl and produced by the Written Art Foundation, Palais Namaskar, Marrakesh
• Segni d'incontro: Agostino Ferrari and Nja Mahdaoui, curated by Martina Corgnati for Confini: International Festival of Visual Arts in the Mediterranean, Teatro Comunale Francesco Cilea, Reggio Calabria, Italy
• A Human Document: Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, curated by René Morales, Pérez Art Museum, Miami
• Reflections from Heaven, Meditations on Earth: Modern Calligraphic Art from the Arab World, curated by Khalid Khreis, MuVIM - Museu Valencià de la Illustració i de la Modernitat, Valencia
• Khatt and After, Modern and Contemporary Calligraphy, highlights from Mathaf's permanent collection, Katara Cultural Village, Doha
• Perspectives: Nja Mahdaoui, Marios Schwab, Amel Esseghir & Bernard Delletrez, curated by Nini Gollong for the FWT (Fashion Week Tunis), Galerie El Marsa, La Marsa
• Siry-Arts - 101 works of art for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, curated by Kathy Battista, Beirut Exhibition Centre
2012
• Segni d'incontro: Agostino Ferrari and Nja Mahdaoui, exhibition curated by Martina Corgnati and paint performance, Centre National d'Art Vivant, Tunis
• Reflections from Heaven, Meditations on Earth: Modern Calligraphic Art from the Arab World, curated by Khalid Khreis, Mercati di Traiano, Museo dei Fori Imperiali, Rome
• Intervalles, Galerie El Marsa, La Marsa
• Journey of the Line: Contemporary Arabic Calligraphic Art, Athr Gallery, Jeddah
• Meem Projects 2012, Part II: Letters in Art (Kamal Boullata, Ali Omar Ermes, Nja Mahdaoui, Parviz Tanavoli), curated by Charles Pocock for the Abu Dhabi Art Week, Meem Gallery, Dubai
• Salah Stétié et les peintres, Paul Valéry Museum, Sète, France
2011
• Bilder werden geschrieben, curated by Karin Adrian von Roques, produced by the Written Art Foundation, Art Forum Kurhaus Kolonnaden, Wiesbaden, Germany
• Azimuth - Ascension, with Khaled Ben Slimane, New Sahara Gallery, Los Angeles
• Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, travelling exhibition (2011-2012), Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York and Hong Kong
• Der Neue Anfang: Meissen artCAMPUS, Leipzig Baumwollspinnerei, Leipzig, Germany
• Sans titre - Une histoire sur l'art…, Galerie El Marsa, La Marsa
• Crossing the Line, co-curated by Irene Barberis and Tashkeel, Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai
2010
• King Khalid Exhibition, produced by King Khalid Foundation, Riyadh
• Freedom and Innovation: Contemporary Arab Calligraphy (Nja Mahdaoui, Khaled Al-Saai, Rima Farah, Hassan Massoudy, Munir Al-Shaarani), travelling exhibition (2010-2011), curated by José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, Casa Árabe, Madrid and Córdoba
• Breaking Boundaries: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, Galerie Kashya Hildebrand, Zürich
• Every painting counts, second Bayt Abdullah exhibition, Dar Al Funoon Gallery, Kuwait City
2009
• Treasures of the World's Cultures - British Museum, travelling exhibition (2009-2012): Canal de Isabel II, Madrid; Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, Canada; Kunst & Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; and Manarat Al Saadiyat Gallery, Abu Dhabi
• International Exhibition of Calligraphy II, Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy, Moscow
• Taswir, Islamische Bildwelten und Moderne, co-curated by Almut Shulamit Bruckstein Çoruh and Hendrik Budde, Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
• Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art, inaugural exhibition co-curated by Nada Shabout, Wassan Al-Khudairi and Deena Chalabi, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha
• Artistes Arabes entre Italie et Maghreb, curated by Martina Corgnati, Galerie Nationale Bab Rouah, Rabat
• Perspectives: Arab & Iranian Modern Masters, Phillips de Pury & Cie, Saatchi Gallery, London
• Routes II: Contemporary Middle Eastern & Arab Art, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, London
• Views & Perspectives in North African Art, Galerie El Marsa, La Marsa
• Middle East Modern Masters, Meem Gallery, Dubai
• The First Exhibition, Rafa Gallery, Damascus
2008
• Re-Orientations: Contemporary Arab Representations, curated by Rose Issa for the Arab Week at the European Parliament, Brussels
• Letters & Spectrums of Nja Mahdaoui, within Silk Road, eleventh Islamic Arts Festival, Sharjah Art Museum. Jury member for the Festival
• Through Arabian Eyes, celebrating the 37th anniversary of the UAE, DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre), Dubai
• Artistes Arabes entre Italie et Maghreb, travelling exhibition curated by Martina Corgnati, Maison des Arts, Tunis and Palais de la Culture, Algiers
• Art Connections: Arab Contemporary Artists, Galerie El Marsa, La Marsa
• Routes I: Contemporary Middle Eastern & Arab Art, Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, London
• Naseem: Ali Omar Ermes and Nja Mahdaoui, Meem Gallery, Dubai
• Noor: Reem Alfaisal, Khaled Al-Saai, Nja Mahdaoui, Galerie Montcalm, Gatineau, Quebec
• Iqaa al kalam, Hunar Gallery, Dubai
• Arab Print - Volume I (Ali Omar Ermes, Nja Mahdaoui, Jamal Abdul Rahim, Mona Saudi, Laila Shawa), ADMAF (Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation), Meem Gallery, Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi
• Occupied Space 2008, Art for Palestine, organized by the UK Palestine Solidarity Campaign, The Mosaic Rooms, A. M. Qattan Foundation, London
2007
• Dance of Pen and Ink: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, travelling exhibition curated by Rose Issa, Triumph Gallery and The State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow; The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
• Sign, Writing & Calligraphy, curated by Amal Traboulsi for Art Paris-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi
2006
• Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, travelling exhibition (2006-2008), curated by Venetia Porter, The British Museum, London and DIFC, Dubai
• Flashback/Forward. A Visual Timeline of Cultural Practices in the Middle East, Third Line Gallery and Dubai Culture Village, Dubai
• Les Journées de la Calligraphie Arabe, Beït El Hikma, Carthage
• Nour, Le Violon Bleu, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
2003
• Mightier than the Sword, travelling exhibition (2003-2004), Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne and Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
• Wie ein Fisch im Wasser, curated by Franz Fischler, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth, Germany
2002
• Le Livre International de la Paix, 2002-2006, curated by Chantal Bernard, Mémorial de Caen, France
2001
• L'art du livre arabe: du manuscrit au livre d'artiste, curated by Marie-Geneviève Guesdon and Annie Vernay-Nouri, Bibliothèque nationale, Paris
• Bouthelidja, Koraichi, Mahdaoui, produced by the ADEIAO (Association pour la défense et l'illustration des arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie), Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Centre d'Etudes Africaines - EHESS, Paris
1999
• Artists & Artisans: Perspectives on Tunisian Culture, The British Museum, London
• Ben Slimane/Mahdaoui, curated by Rose Issa, Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, London
1998
• Anthologie de la peinture en Tunisie 1894-1970, in collaboration with the Partenariat Euro-Tunisien, Musée de Carthage
• Les routes de la soie, curated by Jacques Anquetil, Centre Méditerranéen Artifex, Gruissan, France
1997
• Verbundene Zeichen - Wolfgang Heuwinkel und Nja Mahdaoui, Papierarbeiten und Kalligraphie, Gutenberg Museum, Mainz, Germany
• Poésie du Signe, Poésie du Geste: Michèle Drouin et Nja Mahdaoui, touring exhibition and painting performance, Centre International de Hammamet and Galerie Chiyem, El Menzah, Tunisia
1996
• Wolfgang Heuwinkel, Nja Mahdaoui: Orient Meets Occident, Gemenschaftsarbeiten, travelling exhibition, Evangelischen Akademie Loccum, Rehburg-Loccum and Galerie der Universität Köln, Cologne
• Begegnung & Dialog: Wolfgang Heuwinkel und Nja Mahdaoui, Kunstverein, Rinteln, Germany
• Artiade: Olympics of Visual Art, Atlanta, Georgia
• Chassé-Croisé… Peintres Tunisiens et Européens en Tunisie au XXème siècle, Palais Kheireddine Pacha, Tunis
1995
• Signs, Traces and Calligraphy: Five Contemporary Artists from North Africa (Ahmed Mustapha, Ali Omar Ermes, Rachid Koraichi, Nja Mahdaoui, Mehdi Qotbi), travelling exhibition (1995-1996), curated by Rose Issa, Concourse Gallery, Barbican Art Centre, London; Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam; and within Images of Africa '96 festival, Copenhagen
1994
• Poésie du Signe, Poésie du Geste: Michèle Drouin et Nja Mahdaoui, exhibition curated by Hedwidge Asselin and Normand Biron and painting performance, Centre d'Exposition de Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec
• Rencontre Canada-Tunisie: Michèle Drouin et Joan Cullen / Rachid Fakhfakh et Nja Mahdaoui, Espace Sophonisbe, Carthage
• Salon Tunisien 1894-1994 (Centenary), Galerie Yahia, Tunis
• Sixteenth International Biennale of Graphic Design, Brno, Czech Republic
1993
• Calligrafie e Le ultime stelle, curated by Giorgina Bertolino within Ecbatana, Immagini e scritture da una città invisibile, curated by Enzo Biffi Gentili for the Associazione Dioce, Complesso monumentale di San Filippo Neri; Martano, Peola and Rocca 6 galleries; and Quantica Studio, Turin. Awarded the Targa d'Oro of the Piedmontese Regional Council
• Stille Dialog: Nja Mahdaoui, Tsuneo Shibata, Ole Videbaek, Dansk Centralbibliotek, Flensburg, Germany
• Wolfgang Heuwinkel, Nja Mahdaoui, Orient et Occident, Salle des Pas Perdus, Maison de l'UNESCO, Paris
• Art & Tabac, travelling exhibition (1993-1996), curated by Pierre Restany, Scuderie di Palazzo Ruspoli, Rome; Galleria Eos, Milan; Rai Congrescentrum, Amsterdam; Österreichisches Tabakmuseum, Vienna; Galerie Théorème, Brussels
1992
• Contemporary Arab Signs, curated by Nja Mahdaoui and produced by the Arab League for Expo '92, Seville
• Exposición de Túnez, curated by Zoubeir Lasram for Expo'92, Pabellon de las Artes, Seville
• Tunisia a Gibellina: Artisti tunisini a Gibellina, produced by the Fondazione Orestiadi, Museo Civico d'Arte contemporanea, Gibellina, Italy. Awarded the Gibellina gold medal by Sicilian senator Ludovico Corrao
1991
• Wolfgang Heuwinkel, Nja Mahdaoui: Orient und Okzident, Verbindende Zeichen, travelling exhibition (1991-1992), Galerie Niepel, Düsseldorf and Goethe-Institut, Tunis
• People to People - Paper Unites, curated by Helmut Langer, president of Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) and produced by Zanders Feinpapiere, UNESCO, Paris
1990
• Expo Tamaddun Islam Sedunia, Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur
• Tendances de la peinture contemporaine au Maghreb, travelling exhibition produced by the North African banks: BMCI, CPA, STB, UMMA Bank and Wafa Bank, Tunis; Casablanca; Algiers; Tripoli; and Nouakchott, Mauritania
• Métasignes: Jacques Hudon et Nja Mahdaoui, travelling exhibition, Institut Canadien de la Ville de Québec and Galerie d'Art de la Maison Otis, Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec
• Latitudes, in collaboration with Jacques Hudon, Galerie Chiyem, El Menzah, Tunisia
• Noureddine Hani, Abderrazak Sahli et Nja Mahdaoui, travelling exhibition, Musée de Sidi Bou Said and Maison de la Culture de Hammamet, Tunisia
1989
• Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, touring exhibitions and events produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and the National Office of the Tunisian Tourism, Prague and Sharjah
1988
• Écritures: à la rencontre de Michel Butor, 3 artistes maghrébins (Rachid Koraichi, Mehdi Qotbi, Nja Mahdaoui), travelling exhibition, Galerie de l'Information, Tunis and Musée de Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
• Paysages: Symposium de la Jeune Peinture au Canada, Centre d'Art de Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec
1987
• Six peintres tunisiens contemporains (Brahim Azzabi, Mohamed Ben Mefteh, Rafik Kamel, Nja Mahdaoui, Guider Triki, Hédi Turki), travelling exhibition, curated by Pierre Chaigneau and produced by the AFAA (Association Française d'Action Artistique) and the ADEIAO, Musée d'Art Moderne de Villeneuve d'Ascq, Lille and Musée National des Arts Africains et Océaniens, Paris
• Nunatak: Symposium de la Jeune Peinture au Canada, guest artist, Centre d'Art de Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec
• L'Image réciproque: Léopold Sédar Senghor, son œuvre, les peintres-graveurs et le poète, travelling exhibition, Bibliothèques municipales, Voreppe and Grenoble, France
1986
• Baghdad International Festival of Art, National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad. Wins the Grand Prize for Visual Arts
• Art Contemporain Tunisien, curated by Pierre Chaigneau and Ali Louati, produced by the AFAA and the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Paris
1985
• Écritures dans la peinture, curated by Michel Butor, Villa Arson CNAC (Centre national d'art contemporain), Galerie Diagonale, Nice
• Tracce arabe in italia, travelling exhibition, curated by Italo Mussa and produced by the Arab League, Palazzo Venezia, Rome and Museo Civico, Gibellina, Italy
• Utilisation du signe dans l'art contemporain tunisien, curated by Nja Mahdaoui and produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, La Citadelle, Villefranche sur Mer, France
1984
• L'abstraction dans la peinture tunisienne, curated by Ali Louati, Centre National d'Art Vivant, Tunis
• Tunisian Contemporary Artists, within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, Le Méridien Hotel, Jeddah
1982
• Le mouvement de la calligraphie Arabe (Akl, Belkahia, Khadda, Mahdaoui, Nahle, Najem, Shibrain, Scamanga), first-ever exhibition of Arab artists (presented by Galerie Künstlerteppiche - Düsseldorf and Edition Kröner) at Art Basel 13'82
• Signes, symboles et calligraphie arabe dans l'art contemporain Tunisien, curated by Nja Mahdaoui for the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, Théâtre Sorano, Dakar
• Tunesische Kunst der Gegenwart, within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, Berlin
• Tunus Cagdas Sanat Sergisi (Contemporary Tunisian Art), produced by the Tunisian and Turkish Ministries of Culture, Ankara
1981
• Abderraouf Gara, Rafik El Kamel, Nja Mahdaoui, produced by the AFAA and UNESCO for the thirteenth Festival International de la Peinture, Château-Musée de Cagnes sur Mer, France
1980
• Nja Mahdaoui and Shaker Hassan Al Said: Pour une esthétique du signe calligraphique dans l'art contemporain arabe, Maison de la Culture Ibn Rachiq, Tunis
• Art Contemporain Tunisien, Centre National d'Art Vivant, Tunis
• Ettaswir Gallery Group Show, curated by Abderrazeq El Fehri, Centre National d'Art Vivant, Tunis
1979
• Sixth Arab Biennale, Kuwait City. Special Mention from the jury
1978
• 18 Peintres Tunisiens, curated byHatem el Mekki, second Rencontres Internationales d'Art Contemporain, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris
1977
• Tunisian Contemporary Artists, curated by Mahmoud Shili, Galerie Irtissem, Tunis
1976
• 1971-1976, curated by Pauline de Mazières, Galerie l'Atelier, Rabat, Morocco
• Artistes Arabes résidents en France, travelling exhibition curated by Nja Mahdaoui, co-produced by the ASFA (Association de Solidarité Franco-Arabe) and the Arab League, Rennes, Strasbourg, Lyon and Paris
1973
• Groupe 73. 3 Iraniens: Pilaram, Tabrizi, Zenderoudi. 3 "Invités": García-Mulet (Espagne), Mahdaoui (Tunisie), Piaubert (France), curated by Michel Tapié, Galerie Cyrus (Département artistique de la Maison de l'Iran), Paris
1972
• Espaces abstraits II, with the participation of new Iranian artists, curated by Renzo Cortina and Michel Tapié, Galleria Cortina, Milan
1968
• Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, Cité Universitaire Internationale, Paris
• Salon des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Grand Palais, Paris
• Festival des Arts Visuels, Cannes. Awarded the Gold Trophy
• Exposition Internationale de Nice, France. Awarded the Gold Medal for the "Foreign artists resident in France" section
• Exposition annuelle de la ville de Blois, France. Awarded the Silver Cup, presented by the daughter of René Guénon, for his work devoted to her father
• Exposition annuelle des arts plastiques de la Côte d'Azur, France. Special Mention from the jury
• Group show of international artists, Sirena Gallery, New York
• Quadrennial of Contemporary Art, London
• Alexandria Biennale, Egypt
• Rencontre des plasticiens et poètes, Galerie Gobin, Brussels
1967
• Groupe des cinq: Garmadi, Belkhodja, Ben Cheikh, Mahdaoui, Roccheggiani, curated by Mohamed Aziza, Galerie Yahia, Tunis
• Collective of the Arabic painters resident in Italy, produced by the Chamber of Commerce of Rome and the Arab League, Palazzo delle Arti, Rome
• First Biennale Romana di Arte Contemporanea, Rome. Awarded the Bronze Medal
• Esposizione internazionale di Roma, Palazzo delle Arti, Rome. Awarded the Silver Cup for surrealist painting
• Grand Prix International de Deauville, France. Wins the Grand Prize for Decorative Arts for his work Tribute to Theilard de Chardin
• Il nudo nell'arte: la donna. Prima Mostra Internazionale d'arte contemporanea, Rome
1964
• Salon Annuel de La Marsa, curated by Noureddine Khayachi, Mairie de La Marsa
1961
• Emerging Tunisian Artists, Maison de la Culture Ibn Khaldoun, Tunis