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The Studio Programme makes a wide range of spaces available to creatives at different stages of their careers, offering studio leases for up to three years. Additionally, free work spaces are offered to recent fine arts graduates and PhD candidates to assist them in periods of transition.
The Residency Programme, open to visual artists, performance artists, writers, poets, researchers, musicians, filmmakers and other creatives who wish to pursue their experimental, interdisciplinary practice, offers flights and transportation to Sharjah, accommodation and a monthly stipend. Residents will also have access to the Foundation’s institutional networks and resources.
The application process for the Residency Programme will begin soon, while the open call for the Studio Programme will go out later in the year.
The Collections Building, used in the past for exhibitions and artwork storage, currently hosts workshops and artist studios.
Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, a creek-side heritage house in the Al Shuwaiheen neighbourhood, was the personal residence of pearl merchant Obaid Bin Hamad Al Shamsi and his family until the 1970s. Dating to the mid-nineteenth century, the complex comprises 16 rooms built around an airy central courtyard. In the late 1990s, the house was restored and repurposed as a suite of artist studios and exhibition spaces. The complex offers panoramic views of the creek from its rooftop terrace. Serving as a Sharjah Biennial venue for large-scale installations and performances since 2009, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi also hosts regular art workshops, residencies and year-round events.
Once the personal residence of Issa Bin Abdul Latif Al Serkal, the British Commissioner for the Arabian Gulf, and later home to the late Sheikh Mohammed Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Bait Al Serkal dates to the nineteenth century. Converted into Sharjah’s first maternity hospital in the early 1960s, the heritage house was restored and transformed into an arts and cultural centre in the mid-1990s. Small rooms lining arched corridors as well as an open courtyard, large hall and portico on the upper level are used for Sharjah Biennials and a range of other Foundation programming.
Built on the site of a former souq near the Arabian Gulf coastline, Al Hamriyah Studios offers multifunctional spaces for the production and exhibition of artworks. Combining avant-garde and modern architectural technologies, the complex preserves much of the original footprint of the market, including the central courtyard. Landscaped with local greenery and sculpture, the outdoor area now serves as a place for quiet contemplation or conversation. The venue has hosted exhibitions, site-specific installations, performances and outdoor film screenings. Designed by architect Khaled Al Najjar, Al Hamriyah Studios was inaugurated by the Foundation in 2017.
Retrofitted by Lima-based 51-1 Arquitectos to preserve the feel of open industrial spaces, Kalba Ice Factory boasts well-lighted exhibition areas, art studios and residential accommodation within a natural setting. The complex is located next to Kalba Creek and Al Qurm mangroves, home to many endangered species of birds, turtles and lizards. The 1970s brutalist concrete structure, enclosed by the saw-tooth silhouette of a corrugated metal roof, was once a fish feed mill and ice storage facility. Acquired by Sharjah Art Foundation in 2012, it has been used as Sharjah Biennial venue since 2015.
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