Sharjah Biennial is set to return in February and will run until June. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Biennial is set to return in February and will run until June. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Biennial is set to return in February and will run until June. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Biennial is set to return in February and will run until June. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

Sharjah Biennial 2025 dates, artists and theme revealed


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"What do we carry when it is time to travel, flee or move on?" It is a question Sharjah Biennial will put front and centre when it returns next year.

The art festival will delve into the theme of "To Carry", which aims to look at what people treasure most, how they approach new environments and what cultural traditions anchor them when adapting.

“The theme also signifies a bridge between multiple temporalities, encompassing intergenerational stories and various modes of inheritance," says Sharjah Art Foundation, which organises the festival. "What do we carry when it is time to travel, flee or move on? What are the passages that we form as we migrate between territories and across time? What do we carry when we remain? What do we carry when we survive?"

Set to run from February 6 to June 15, more than 80 new commissions will have their premiere, including works by more than 140 participants. The full programme will be revealed closer to the date.

Regional artists from various fields will also showcase their works, with some producing new commissions specifically for the biennial.

This includes Emirati multi-disciplinary artist Hashel Al Lamki, who will present new work. He often unpacks the relationship between people and their immediate environment, whether it's the landscape or urban surroundings. Influenced by the nature of Al Ain, particularly Jebel Hafeet, Al Lamki looks at the contrasts and connections between rugged terrains in comparison to industrial and architectural growth in the UAE.

Renowned Lebanese filmmaker, photographer and archival artist Akram Zaatari will also be showing his work. Zaatari’s practice is largely based on collecting, studying and archiving the photographic history of the Arab world and has a particular interest in post-war Lebanon.

Also set to showcase works is Kuwaiti visual artist Monira Al Qadiri, whose explorations of the narrative of oil in the Gulf have made her work timeless and approachable from an aesthetic perspective. Her larger-than-life sculptures are bold, colourful and contemporary. From delicate flower-like sculptures to floating shapes based on molecules, her work makes powerful statements.

The works will be displayed around the emirate including Sharjah City, Al Hamriyah, Al Dhaid, Kalba and Al Madam. It will be curated by an all-female panel comprising Indonesia's Ali Swastika, Bahraini-Singaporean Bahraini-Egyptian artist Amal Khalaf, New Zealand artist Megan Tamati-Quennell, Sri Lankan art curator Natasha Ginwala and Turkish curator Zeynep Oz.

Sharjah Art Foundation president Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi said the eclectic nature of the curators should ensure a dynamic programme at the biennial.

“The constellation of diverse methodologies that the five curators have gathered offers audiences the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking dialogues bridging the local context with global narratives about identity, movement, change and collectivity," she said.

“Sharjah Biennial 16 offers a space for imagining new collective futures while recognising the weight of shared histories and experiences."

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice. 

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

The Transfiguration

Director: Michael O’Shea

Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine

Three stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Updated: October 03, 2024, 12:40 PM