Vantage Point Sharjah: a showcase of 30 photographers from around the world

Vantage Point Sharjah, an annual photography exhibition at the Sharjah Art Foundation, has returned for its eighth instalment, with more than 30 photographers from 20 countries taking part.

The photographers were selected through an international open call, a recent development in the Vantage Point Sharjah initiative, which only accepted GCC applicants until last year. The foundation has not only extended Vantage Point's geographical reach, it has also broadened its thematic criteria, allowing applicants to submit their own styles.

Gianluigi Guercia, 'Meat Market' (2018). Courtesy the artist and Sharjah Art Foundation

VPS8 marks the second time the exhibition has opened up to photographers from around the world, attracting 290 applicants. Last year, 36 photographers were featured in the show, including participants from the Republic of the Congo, France, Sudan, Nigeria, Russia and the US, as well as GCC states.

This year, the exhibition brings the work of 39 photographers together. The images include collage, analogue photography and digital manipulation. Tied by no specific theme, the subjects of the works vary, too, from photographs capturing communities and personal experiences to landscapes and portraits.

Among those selected is Armin Amirian, an artist in Tehran who captures Iran's architectural structures and reinterprets them digitally, adding elements to build a more fantastical narrative. By contrast, the work of South Africa-based Gianluigi Guercia is more documentarian in approach. His images of objects and public spaces look more like personal, cinematic vignettes rather than landscape or street photography.

Armin Amirian, 'Alest' (2017). Courtesy the artist and Sharjah Art Foundation

Other photographers in the show include Abdo Shanan, a former intern at Magnum Photos Paris who was born in Oran to Sudanese and Algerian parents. Often working with portraiture, Shanan's images investigate identity and everyday life. There is also visual artist Amina Kadous from Cairo, whose experience as an Egyptian woman heavily influences her work.

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Jack Yong, who lives and works in Malaysia, explores the balance of urban and natural elements in his environment through abstract images. Other participants include Elaheh Abdolahabadi, Katya Akuma, Raheed Allaf, Sundos Alsheebani, Gheed Ashoor and Abdelhamid Belahmidi.

The show opened last Saturday at Sharjah Art Foundation’s Al Hamriyah Studios, a former souq that was converted into a contemporary art space in 2017. It will be on view until Saturday, November 28.

The foundation reopened its Al Mureijah Art Spaces and Rain Room Sharjah in June, creating an online booking system that enables visitors to schedule a time slot ahead of their arrival. Bookings will be checked before entry.

More information can be found on sharjahart.org

Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

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MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

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Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)

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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

PRISCILLA

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills