Following this year’s critically acclaimed Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah Art Foundation continues its ongoing multidisciplinary initiatives through the second half of 2023 with an expansive schedule of seasonal exhibitions, international collaborations on exhibitions and research projects as well as annual programmes dedicated to photography, film, publishing and performance.
Exhibitions in Sharjah
In the Heart of Another Country: The Diasporic Imagination Rises
July 15–September 24, 2023
Following its presentation at Deichtorhallen Hamburg, this exhibition of work from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection exploring the concept of home is reimagined with the addition of recent acquisitions and newly restored works of art. More than 150 works by over 60 artists will be on view, including works by Etel Adnan, Rasheed Araeen, Huguette Caland, Tiffany Chung, Meschac Gaba, David Koloane and Kamala Ibrahim Ishag. Organised in collaboration with Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the exhibition is curated by Dr Omar Kholeif, Director of Collections and Senior Curator, Sharjah Art Foundation.
Henok Melkamzer
October 14, 2023–March 10, 2024
Featuring more than 100 works, this exhibition is the largest solo presentation of artworks by Ethiopian telsem artist Henok Melkamzer. Telsem is a sophisticated Ethiopian visual art form that incorporates philosophy and various symbols, drawings and texts imbued with deeper meanings. Organised in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah, the exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Giorgis, Associate Professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism, The Africa Institute, Sharjah.
Lubaina Himid: Plaited Time / Deep Water
October 28, 2023–January 28, 2024
Lubaina Himid’s first solo exhibition in the region responds to the context of Sharjah’s architecture, soundscapes and feelings evoked by its proximity to the sea. At the heart of the exhibition is a newly imagined presentation of Zanzibar (1998–2023), a series of paintings as well as a sonic installation created in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Magda Stawarska. The exhibition is curated by Dr Omar Kholeif, Director of Collections and Senior Curator, Sharjah Art Foundation.
Gavin Jantjes: To Be Free! A Retrospective (1970–2023)
November 18, 2023–March 10, 2024
The largest solo presentation of the artist to date, this retrospective of Oxfordshire-based South African artist Gavin Jantjes brings together over 100 prints, drawings, and paintings as well as archival material from the 1970s to present day, including a new body of work produced during his 2022 residency in Sharjah. Jantjes is recognised as a creative activist, artist, curator and critical thinker, furthering the discourses and representation of African and African diaspora art. Organised in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah, this exhibition is curated by Salah M. Hassan, Director, The Africa Institute, and Professor, Cornell University.
Exhibitions on view internationally
The Casablanca Art School: Platforms and Patterns for a Postcolonial Avant-Garde 1962–1987
Tate St Ives: May 27, 2023–January 14, 2024
Travelling to Sharjah Art Foundation in 2024
This is the first major museum exhibition of the Casablanca Art School whose revolutionary approach proposed a bold new visual culture following Morocco’s independence in 1956. The exhibition brings together works across a wide variety of media by more than 20 artists alongside rarely seen print archives, vintage journals and photographs.
Organised by Tate St Ives and Sharjah Art Foundation, the exhibition is curated by Morad Montazami and Madeleine de Colnet for Zamân Books & Curating in conjunction with Anne Barlow, Director, Tate St Ives and Giles Jackson, Assistant Curator, Tate St Ives, and with associate researchers Fatima-Zahra Lakrissa and Maud Houssais. The exhibition in Sharjah will be presented in collaboration with Sharjah Art Museum and curated with Hoor Al Qasimi, Director, Sharjah Art Foundation.
KADIST and Sharjah Art Foundation
KADIST, Paris: October 5, 2023–February 4, 2024
Travelling to Sharjah Art Foundation in 2024
Following a recent collaboration to support the production of Farah Al Qasimi’s new work for Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah Art Foundation and KADIST are co-organising a group exhibition that brings together notable works from the collections of both institutions, anchored by Al Qasimi’s Biennial work, to explore notions of history, cartography and colonisation. The exhibition is curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Director, Sharjah Art Foundation.
Annual programmes
Vantage Point Sharjah 11
October 14, 2023–March 10, 2024
Continuing the Foundation’s commitment to advancing emerging photographic practices and diverse forms of the medium, Vantage Point Sharjah returns in 2023 with a new and expanded vision for the programme. This year’s edition includes a new focus on photographers based in Africa and Asia who have not yet had a solo institutional presentation.
Perform Sharjah
October 2023–February 2024
Sharjah Art Foundation’s performing arts season returns in October 2023, engaging with Sharjah’s public spaces, heritage houses and theatres. The programme interweaves the creations of contemporary artists with the city’s urban fabric through a range of cross-disciplinary performances.
Focal Point
November 24–26, 2023
Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual art book fair showcases independent bookmaking from the region and around the world, as well as locally-based publishers, artists and makers. A critical space for knowledge sharing and community building, Focal Point also includes talks, book launches, artists’ signings, workshops, music and artist-made products.
Sharjah Film Platform 6
December 8–17, 2023
This 10-day festival of films, talks and concerts celebrating independent cinema and moving images returns in December for its sixth edition. More than 30 cutting-edge films will premiere in the UAE and compete for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards, presented alongside a series of special screenings curated by the Foundation and invited film programmers.
Media contact: Alyazeyah Al Marri, T +971(0)65444113 / alyazeyah [at] sharjahart.org