Sharjah24: Sharjah Biennial continues its compelling selection of film screenings, performances, online talks and workshops as part of the 15th edition and 30-year anniversary. Running through 11 June 2023 in different venues across Sharjah, the programmes build on the Biennial theme, ‘thinking historically in the present’.
Conceived by the late Okwui Enwezor, Sharjah Biennial 15 (SB15) is curated by the Director of Sharjah Art Foundation Hoor Al Qasimi, who elaborates on Enwezor’s proposal with a presentation of more than 300 artworks—including 70 new works—critically centring the past within the present. The artworks as well as the film, talks and learning programmes span 19 venues in 5 cities and towns across the emirate: Al Dhaid, Al Hamriyah, Kalba, Khorfakkan and the city of Sharjah.
SB15 Performances
Two contemporary dance performances will be presented this month as part of Sharjah Biennial 15:
My body, my archive (2023)
Faustin Linyekula
20 May 2023, 8:00 pm
Sharjah Performing Arts Academy, Sharjah
Faustin Linyekula is a contemporary dancer and choreographer who derives elements of the West African dance style of Ndombolo and incorporates its quick, syncopated rhythms into his work. An exploration of personhood, Linyekula’s My body, my archive (2023) interrogates his artistic output and revisits his own embodied experiences as a living archive and vessel to tell stories over the years. Co-produced by Théâtre National de la danse, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, the work wonders about the artist’s Congolese ancestors and attempts to unearth the suppressed stories of all the invisible women of generations past.
Paradise Rumour (2023)
Black Grace
26 May 2023, 8:00 pm
Africa Hall, Sharjah
Contemporary dance company Black Grace will premiere Paradise Rumour (2023) at Sharjah Biennial 15. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation, this performance is an extension of their work Gathering Clouds (2009), which addresses prejudice and xenophobia against Pacific migrants in Aotearoa [New Zealand]. Asking ‘how far have we really come since then?’, Paradise Rumour deals with personal and collective memories and experiences of the Pacific Island community, starting with the arrival of the missionaries.
These performances are made possible with the generous support of Bank of Sharjah and Sharjah Government Media Bureau. Bank of Sharjah's sponsorship of the Sharjah Biennial aligns with its focus on social responsibility and fostering cooperation among communities and connecting them through the arts.
SB15 Film Programme
The SB15 Film Programme presents a series of narrative, documentary and experimental films by participating artists and other significant filmmakers. Highlighting the overall empowering nature of the filmic medium, the line-up features varied and radical imaginations of Indigenous futures as well as subversive portrayals of resistance to the legacies of colonialism.
Launched in March, screenings take place at Sharjah Art Foundation’s open-air Mirage City Cinema in Al Mureijah Square and Al Hamra Cinema until June 2023.
The May segment includes Show Me on the Map (2010), a two-episode film that depicts the lives of Aboriginal citizens in Canada voicing their perspectives and concerns about the unprecedented mining industry development on Aboriginal lands; SOL (2014) explores the death of a young Inuk man, Solomon Tapatiaq Uyarasuk, who is found dead in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment in a remote Inuit community. As the documentary investigates Solomon’s death, it sheds light on the underlying social issues of Canada’s North, a region with one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world.
Both films are directed by Canadian film director and producer Marie- Hélène Cousineau.
Taking place on 27 May 2023 at Al Hamra Cinema, Show Me on the Map will be screened at 8:00 pm while SOL will be screened at 8:55 pm.
SB15 Talks Programme
Taking place online until 10 June 2023, the SB15 Talks Programme consists of a discursive series of events that brings together artists, practitioners, scholars and historians. Their conversations amplify some of the most pressing issues with which SB15 has been dialoguing, including heritage, memory and culture; race, gender and migration; violence, dystopia and resistance; and postcolonial and decolonial futures.
Upcoming sessions include:
20 May 2023
• ‘Against Erasure and Forgetting’
A Conversation with Ruanne Abou-Rahme and Basel Abbas
• ‘Dystopic Futures and the Age of Petro-Modernity’
A Conversation with Monira Al Qadiri
3 June 2023
• Subverting the Gaze: Indigenous Representation in Visual Art and Dance
A Conversation with Kahurangiariki Smith and Neil Ieremia
• Everyday Topographies of Violence
A Conversation with Doris Salcedo
• From Extractive Capital to the Neocolonial: Perspectives from the Visual
Arts
A Conversation with Carolina Caycedo and Remi Kuforiji
10 June 2023
• Panel: Food Politics
SB15 Learning Programme
The Learning Programme includes exhibition tours with experts, workshops, talks, panel discussions, excursions, photowalks and storytelling sessions that simultaneously engage with Sharjah’s history, diverse communities and landscapes. Conducted in Arabic and English, the SB15 Learning Programme unfolds across multiple venues, from Al Mureijah Square, Arts Square and Dasman in the city of Sharjah to Al Hamriyah, Al Dhaid, Al Madam, Khorfakkan, Dibba Al Hisn and Kalba in the Foundation’s six Art Centres.
Learning Programme for Children and Families
Sharjah Art Foundation invites children and families to make cyanotype and block prints, embroider plants and letters, take excursions to the past and build an art installation in the form of a storybook. Taking place until 10 June 2023, the programme provides an array of arts activities and events inspired by the work of international artists and collectives participating in Sharjah Biennial 15.
Offered in English and/or Arabic, depending on participant needs, the May sessions will take place in the city of Sharjah—at the Collections Building and Bait Obaid Al Shamsi in Arts Square—and in Al Hamriyah Studios.
20 May 2023
• Design Floral Embroidery
• Weave with Paper
27 May 2023
• Prepare Your Canvas for Painting
• Embroider Fabric Letters
• Ongoing Sharjah Biennial 15 Mural Project
• Create a Storybook Installation
3 June
• Experiment with Block Printing
• Excursion and Workshop: Connect with the Past
In collaboration with the Sharjah Archaeology Museum
10 June
• Weave Wool and Silk Tapestries
• Show Your Fashion through Mixed-Media Collages
Learning Programme for Youth and Adults
The SB15 Learning Programme for Youth and Adults ranges from meetups, supper clubs, excursions and open mic nights to workshops inspired by SB15 works, including gardening and photography sessions. Through this programme, participants will be able to work with and learn from exhibiting artists as well as local artisans and craftsmen.
Venues are located in Al Mureijah Square and Arts Square in the city of Sharjah. Sessions are in English and/or Arabic, depending on participant needs. Sessions are free, and all materials are provided.
20 May 2023
• Edible Flora Cultivation Excursion and Workshop
4 June 2023
• Herbal Teas and Remedies Meetup
Biennial Bytes: Official SB15 Podcast
Sharjah Art Foundation has launched Biennial Bytes, the official podcast of Sharjah Biennial 15. Bringing the Biennial to life for culture enthusiasts around the world, the podcast delves into the work of some of the most prominent artists practising today.
In each 30-minute episode, host Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of the Foundation and curator of SB15, asks artists about their practice, their process and their Biennial project. The first season of Biennial Bytes includes 12 episodes, featuring artists Nari Ward, Mary Sibande, John Akomfrah, Joiri Minaya, Yinka Shonibare, Kambui Olujimi, Archana Hande, Annalee Davis, Mithu Sen, Abdulraheem Salem and Amar Kanwar. New episodes will be released every Monday until 12 June 2023.
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