Among the artists featured in the Foundation’s upcoming exhibition schedule are Turner Prize-winner Lubaina Himid, painter and printmaker Gavin Jantjes, telsem artist Henok Melkamer and the artists of the renowned Casablanca Art School of Morocco. In addition to ongoing work with the Foundation’s many international partners for Sharjah Biennial 15, the organisation continues to collaborate on exhibitions and research initiatives with institutions and arts organisations, including Tate St Ives, Deichtorhallen Hamburg and KADIST.
Sharjah Art Foundation’s schedule of exhibitions and programmes at the Foundation’s venues in Sharjah and at partner venues internationally include the following for the remainder of 2023:
In the Heart of Another Country: The Diasporic Imagination Rises
15 July–24 September 2023
Galleries 1 to 6, Al Mureijah Square
Following its presentation at Deichtorhallen Hamburg, In the Heart of Another Country is reimagined with the addition of recent acquisitions and newly restored works of art from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection. This exhibition explores the concept of home—of longing and belonging by artists who hail from multiple diasporas.
The artists in the exhibition have traversed migratory routes from South and West Asia, through Africa and the Caribbean. Many now live in dispersed sites, far from where they first believed that they belonged. The exhibition examines how mobility across space and time has shaped and contoured the frame of global art today. 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
14 October 2023–10 March 2024
Al Hamriyah Studios
Featuring more than 100 works, many on view for the first time, this exhibition is the largest solo presentation of artworks by Ethiopian telsem artist Henok Melkamzer, giving audiences a rare look at this distinctive Ethiopian art form. Traditionally termed as healing or talisman art, telsem is a sophisticated visual art form that incorporates philosophy and intricate themes and includes various symbols, drawings and texts imbibed with deeper meanings. Combining ancient inspirations with modern idioms, Melkamzer’s canvas works reconstruct the conventions of this traditional art form and broaden the understanding of ‘modern’ art through their visual sophistication and complex conceptualisation. 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
28 October 2023–28 January 2024
Galleries 1, 2 and 3, Al Mureijah Square
Inhabiting the galleries and outdoor courtyards of Al Mureijah Square, 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 work recounts life-long journeys of return and is presented as a sensorial encounter for visitors, who are invited to listen, linger and experience memory unfolding. 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)
18 November 2023–10 March 2024
Galleries 4, 5 and 6, Al Mureijah Square
The largest solo presentation of the artist to date, this retrospective of Oxfordshire-based South African painter and printmaker Gavin Jantjes brings together more than five decades of the artist’s practice from the 1970s to present day, including a new body of work produced during his 2022 residency in Sharjah. The artist is recognised as a creative activist, artist, curator and critical thinker, furthering the discourses and representation of African and African diaspora art. Through over 100 prints, drawings and paintings as well as archival material, the exhibition traces Jantjes’ quest to explore artistic and aesthetic form, unbound by the Eurocentric gaze and its prescribed roles. Organised in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah, this exhibition is curated by Salah M. Hassan, Director, The Africa Institute, and Professor, Cornell University.
The Casablanca Art School: Platforms and Patterns for a Postcolonial Avant-Garde 1962–1987
Tate St Ives: 27 May 2023–14 January 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. Working across painting, sculpture, graphic design, architectural mural painting and many other media, the artists associated with the school placed art into public spaces and promoted it as a shared experience. This landmark exhibition brings together works by more than 20 artists, including vibrant, abstract paintings, urban murals, craft, typology, graphics and ceramics, 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, scheduled for February 2024, will be presented in collaboration with Sharjah Art Museum and curated with Hoor Al Qasimi, Director, Sharjah Art Foundation.
Casablanca Art School is also part of a key moment of international research into the Casablanca Art School, initiated in 2020 by KW Institute for Contemporary Art and Sharjah Art Foundation, in partnership with Goethe-Institut Marokko, ThinkArt and Zamân Books & Curating.
KADIST and Sharjah Art Foundation
5 October 2023–4 February 2024
KADIST, Paris
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 in Paris, which will see its second iteration in Sharjah in 2024. The exhibition 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 of Sharjah Art Foundation.
Vantage Point Sharjah 11
14 October 2023–10 March 2024
Old Al Diwan Al Amiri, Al Hamriyah
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. Photographers can now submit full portfolios rather than single works to the annual open call, resulting in the selection of five artists whose work will be presented in a group exhibition. Selected photographers will also receive extensive mentorship through a pairing with a professional in the field as well as production support for their presented works.
Perform Sharjah
October 2023–February 2024 (various dates)
Locations across Sharjah
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.
Playing Ouds: Oud in the Hands of Women Musicians from Around the World
3–4 November 2023
Sharjah
Organised in collaboration with Kamilya Jubran’s platform Zamkana, this participatory public seminar explores the way the oud is used and played by women artists from around the world. Five renowned oud players from different geographic, historical and cultural backgrounds will present, interpret, exchange and share their personal musical worlds and languages. The seminar examines how the varied methods and techniques of playing this unique instrument interact organically with the music these artists create.
Focal Point
24–26 November 2023
Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, Arts Square
Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual art book fair showcases independent bookmaking from the region and around the world, with a particular spotlight on UAE-based publishers. The fair features a compelling selection of printed material by artists’ presses, bookmakers, self-publishers and non-commercial cultural producers that are expanding and experimenting with the medium of publishing. A critical space for knowledge sharing and community building, the fair also includes talks, book launches, artists’ signings, workshops, music and artist-made products.
Sharjah Film Platform 6
8–17 December 2023
Mirage City Cinema, Al Mureijah Square, and other cinema venues in Sharjah
This 10-day festival celebrating independent cinema and experimental filmmaking returns in December for its sixth edition. More than 30 cutting-edge films will have their national premieres and compete for the Sharjah Film Platform Awards, presented alongside a series of special screenings curated by the Foundation and invited film programmers. Complementing the festival is an enriching programme of talks, concerts and events.
Additional details on all of Sharjah Art Foundation’s upcoming programmes are available at sharjahart.org.
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