One of  established and leading contemporary bienniales in the Middle East, Sharjah Art Foundation launches the 11th edition of Sharjah Biennial (Re:emerge :: Toward A New Cultural Cartography) on March 13 to May 13, 2013 in Sharjah, UAE. With over 100 artists, 37 commissioned, Sharjah Biennal puts together a selection of contemporary artworks, performances, films revealing the relationships between the Arab world, Asia, Far East, North Africa and to Latin America, in a scene where divers and multi cultures merge.

Benefiting Sharjah’s rich and solid history and embracing culture, the opening of Sharjah Biennale  (Re:emerge :: Toward A New Cultural Cartography) will mark the inauguration of Sharjah Art Foundation’s five new multi-functional art spaces in the Sharjah Heritage Area which have been in development since 2009. With approximately 20,000 square feet of interior space, connected by open-air courtyards and rooftop terraces, these new spaces will provide venues for SAF’s growing activities and the increasing needs of its community.

Curator Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT) and Professor of curatorial and art theory at Tama Art University in Tokyo, was inspired by the courtyard in Islamic architecture, in particular the historical courtyards of Sharjah, where elements of both public and private life intertwine, and where the objective political world and the introspective subjective space intersect and cross over.

The courtyard is also seen as a plane of experience and experimentation—an arena for learning and critical thinking of a discursive and embodied kind. It marks a generative space for the production of new awareness and knowledge. Within the network of intensifying international and globalising links, the courtyard as an experiential and experimental space comes to mirror something of Sharjah as a vital zone of creativity, transmission, and transformation.

Opening Week Programme will begin with the opening on March 13, 2013, followed by the evening Biennial Awards ceremony. A full schedule of events March 13 – 17 will include performances, films, lectures, and the annual March Meeting, a symposium featuring thematic sessions and moderated panel discussions that will reflect on and contexualise the concept of Sharjah Biennal Edition 11.

Film Programme

Curated by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, it will feature programming by leading figures in the film industry, including Steve Anker, Dean of the School of Film/Video at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Los Angeles; Khavn De La Cruz, Poet, Pianist, Filmmaker, Mondomanila, the Philippines; Ali Jaafar, Executive Director, Independent Film Division, Quinta Communications, London; Mehelli Modi, Founder of Second Run DVD, London; Alcino Leite Neto, Editor, Sao Paulo; Jean-Pierre Rehm, Theorist, Festival director, FIDMarseille, Paris; Tilda Swinton, Scotland; and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Film Director/ Producer, Chiang Mai, Thailand. The programme will include evening screenings in an outdoor cinema in Sharjah Art Foundation’s new art spaces of commissioned films, existing productions, and curated film programmes.

Music and Performance Programme

International and regional artists will be featured in a series of music and performance events that will take place throughout SB11. As part of this programme, Lebanese sound artist Tarek Atoui will orchestrate a series of new commissions by more than ten international musicians, including percussionists who will perform on the roofscape of Sharjah Art Foundation’s art spaces, and an Sharjah Biennal edition 11 commissioned solo performance by Egyptian artist Hassan Khan during the opening week. Later events include a Skype-based dance performance by Tunisian dancer and choreographer duo Selma and Sofiane Ouissi and an audiovisual concert by Japanese sound artist Ryoji Ikeda in April.

Visit Sharjah Biennale with ArtBus

ArtintheCity’s ArtBus is on hand this March to make sure you catch the full programme of talks, performances, music and films at the Sharjah Biennial 11 opening week.

In partnership with the Sharjah Art Foundation, a free ArtBus will run three times a day from 14 – 17 March between The Pavilion Downtown Dubai and Sharjah, taking passengers to the Sharjah Biennial 11 (SB11) programme of exciting events, new artist commissions and the annual March Meeting.  

To guarantee your seat on the Sharjah Biennial 11 ArtBus please email artbus@artinthecity.com with your name, contact number, and chosen timings. For full bus timing, click here.

For full program of events and exhibitions in Sharjah Biennal Edition 11, click here. For complete commissioned artists list participating in Biennale, click here.

Cheers