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3/4/2007

Sharjah Biennial

Sharjah Expo Centre, Sharjah

8 edition

The Sharjah Biennial, one of the most important international art events in the Arab world, launches its eighth edition at Art Basel Miami Beach. Sharjah Biennial 8 (SB8) will take place 4 April – 4 June 2007 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The Biennial’s Director is Hoor Al Qasimi, the Artistic Director is Jack Persekian and Curators are Mohammed Kazem, Eva Scharrer and Jonathan Watkins. The Biennial’s theme proposes art as a way of creating a better understanding about our relationship with nature and the environment, whilst considering its social, political and cultural dimensions in an interdisciplinary way.

Jonathan Watkins, Curator, Sharjah Biennial 8, comments:
“The Sharjah Biennial 8 is a positive contribution to an activism in the face of looming threat. It favors openness as opposed to insulation, falling in with other attempts to merge together art, society, and environmental issues. It is not intended as a judgmental exercise, telling people how to live their lives, but aims instead to point at urgent concerns in the light of contemporary culture, in its broadest sense. This Biennial is at once a celebration of the natural world and a response to the countless alarms being set off as a result of human thoughtlessness, a concerted effort to convey poignant observations on the seriousness of the impact we have and the extent of our responsibility.”

The SB8 programme will include exhibitions, performances, a film programme curated by Mark Nash and a symposium organised in collaboration with the American University of Sharjah, RSA (London) and curatorial practice Latitudes (Barcelona). The entire city of Sharjah is being offered to artists for site-specific work, and other SB8 activities will take place across a wide range of venues including the Sharjah Art Museum, the Expo Centre, the Heritage Area of Sharjah, the American University of Sharjah and others. The SB8 Art Prizes will be awarded to two winning artists by a jury composed of Charles Esche and Geeta Kapur. Furthermore, UNESCO will award their Prize for the Promotion of the Arts & the Young Digital Creator Award, in collaboration with the Sharjah Biennial 8.

SB8 will present works by more than 70 international contemporary artists. Those developing new site-specific commissions include Graham Gussin, Lara Almarcegui, E-xplo, Tue Greenfort, Marjetica Potrc, Tomas Saraceno and Marya Kazoun. Artists presenting existing works of relevance to the Biennial’s theme include Rirkrit Tiravanija, Zineb Sedira, Gustav Metzger and Lara Baladi among many others.

Several artists such as Ranjani Shettar and Luca Vitone have chosen to develop works for the Heritage Area of Sharjah – a complex of restored historic, low-rise buildings in the traditional architecture of the Emirates. The Biennial’s architectural and exhibition design team will adapt the selected locations in order to accommodate the different artists’ projects, while respecting Sharjah’s conservation regulations.

Eva Scharrer, Curator, Sharjah Biennial 8 comments:
“In that peculiar time and place, we aim to introduce a slightly different - at times ephemeral - kind of aesthetic, including a DIY-approach and associations to recycling, which will question the love of luxury and the ever faster, “higher” lifestyle, specifically in the regional context of the Sharjah Biennial, as well as our daily ways of production and consumption. Via strategies of deconstruction and contamination, but also through the use of metaphor, humour and play, the artists taking part in the Sharjah Biennial 8, will make visible some of the daily absurdities, within which society exists today.”

The Sharjah Artists’ in Residence Programme runs parallel to the Biennial and involves artists spending a varying duration of time in Sharjah in order to develop site-specific work. Resident artists also get a chance to collaborate with the local community through different organisations and educational institutions.

Initiated in 1993, the Sharjah Biennial is produced by the Department of Culture and Information of the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a key position in the region in the production and presentation of art and is an active player in the international art arena. The Biennial strives to encourage dialogue between artists, art institutions and organisations locally, regionally and internationally. It seeks to promote cross-cultural exchange whilst fostering experimentation and the production of site-specific work for Sharjah.

List of participating artists for the Sharjah Biennial 8
Ignasi Aballi, Lida Abdul, Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Lara Almarcegui, El Anatsui, Roy Arden, Vladimir Arkhipov, Mireille Astore, Lara Baladi, Noor Al-Bastaki, Taysir Batniji, Cheri Cherin, Marjolijn Dijkman, Muratbek Djoumaliev & Gulnara Kasmalieva, Bright Ugochukwu Eke, Sophie Elbaz, E-xplo, Mounir Fatmi, Peter Fend, Franz Gertsch, Abdulnasser Gharem, Simryn Gill, Tue Greenfort, Group Tuesday (Fadi Abdallah, Bilal Khbeiz, Walid Sadek), Graham Gussin, Khaled Hafez, Henrik Håkansson, Anawana Haloba, Ilana Halperin, Mona Hatoum, Susan Hefuna, Uschi Huber, Mohammed Ahmad Ibrahim, Alfredo Jaar, Marya Kazoun, Amal Kenawy, Leopold Kessler, Suchan Kinoshita, Joachim Koester, Christina Kubisch, Deborah Ligorio, Claudia Losi, Lutz & Guggisberg, Tea Mäkipää, Ahmed Mater, Hassan Meer, Gustav Metzger, Mind Bomb, Abdal Rahman Al Muani, Maha Mustafa, Jesus Bubu Negron, Jacques Nimki, Cornelia Parker, Pablo Patrucco, Dan Perjovschi, Dan Peterman, Marjetica Potrc, Michael Rakowitz, Ibrahim Rashid, Noguchi Rika, Budoor Al Riyami, Abdallah Saadi, Huda Saeed Saif, Michael Sailstorfer, Tomas Saraceno, Joe Scanlan, Zineb Sedira, Anas Al-Shaikh, Ranjani Shettar, SOI Project, Samir Srouji, Simon Starling, Gerda Steiner & Jorg Lenzlinger, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Sergio Vega, Luca Vitone, Shatha Al-Wadi, Akram Zaatari, Camille Zakharia.

Sharjah Biennial 8 Symposium
A symposium presented in collaboration with local and international educational institutions including the RSA (London) and Latitudes (Barcelona-based curatorial practice). It will present a range of different activities and forums, from focused presentations by speakers and artists, to discussion panels and screenings. The symposium will address such issues as today’s uses and abuses of the
‘eco-‘; the growing interest in carbon trading and offsetting; and the application of recycled and sustainable materials in today’s artistic and institutional practices. SB8 will launch a moderated, online forum prior to the Biennial’s opening in April, which will continue after the symposium closes, in order to allow a worldwide audience to take part in the discussions.

Sharjah Biennial 8 Catalogue
Edited by Serene Huleileh. Contributors include: Gustavo Esteva, Munir Fasheh, Manish Jain, Francesco Manacorda, Akiko Miki, Rasha Salti, Trevor Smith and Raimar Stange. The Catalogue will consist of three books; the last book will be published after the Biennial closes in June 2007, documenting the Biennial’s activities, exhibitions and the Symposium.

Biographies

Sharjah Biennial 8 - Directors

Director: Hoor Al Qasimi - Co-curator of ‘NEAR' - 1998, with Derek Ogbourne and Peter Lewis and Co-curator of ‘Andy Warhol' - 2002, with Brigitte Schenk from Brigitte Schenk Gallery, Cologne, both at Sharjah Art Museum. Director and Co-curator of ‘Sharjah Biennial 6' with Peter Lewis - 2003. Director of ‘Sharjah Biennial 7' - 2005. Tutor of Painting and Drawing at Sharjah Fine Art Centre - 1997. Studied Fine Art at Slade School of Fine Art, London and is currently completing an MA in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art, London.

Artistic Director: Jack Persekian - Curator and Producer, Founding Director of Anadiel Gallery and, the Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jerusalem. Head curator of Sharjah Biennial 7 (2005). Recent curated exhibitions include: Reconsidering Palestinian Art, Fundacion Antonio Perez, Cuenca, Spain (2006); Disorientation – Contemporary Arab Artists from the Middle East, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2003); in weiter ferne, so nah, neue palastinensische kunst, Ifa Galleries in Bonn, Stuttgart and Berlin (2002); Official Palestinian Representation to the XXIV Biennale de Sao Paulo. Additional productions and directing include: The Palestinian Cultural Evening at the World Economic Forum in the Dead Sea, Jordan (2004), The Geneva Initiative, Public Commitment Event (2003), the Millennium Celebrations in Bethlehem - Bethlehem 2000. Short films and video works: ‘ A Ball and a Coloring Box', ‘ my son', ‘the last 5 short films of the millennium' and ‘ the first 4 short films of the millennium' in collaboration with Palestinian filmmakers.

Sharjah Biennial 8 – Curators

Eva Scharrer
Independent art historian, curator and critic, currently based in Basel, Switzerland. Scharrer has curated at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; Kunstverein Freiburg; and Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz/Basel. Exhibition projects include international group shows such as “Submerge. New art from New York” at Kunstbunker Nurenberg (curator); and “Insideout. 5th Festival of Young Art: Berlin – Prague – New York” at Bunker Reinhardtstrasse , Berlin (co-curator). She is a regular contributor to Artforum International and Artforum.com, New York; Kunst-Bulletin, Zurich; C Magazine, Toronto; Neue Review, Berlin; Regioartline.org, Freiburg/Basel; and BAZ, the Basel daily newspaper.

Jonathan Watkins
Jonathan Watkins has been Director of Ikon Gallery Birmingham since 1999. Previously he worked for a number of years in London, as Curator of the Serpentine Gallery (1995-1997) and Director of Chisenhale Gallery (1990-1995). Jonathan Watkins was Artistic Director of the Biennale of Sydney 1998. He was guest curator for Quotidiana, Castello di Rivoli, Turin (1999-2000), Europarte La Biennale di Venezia (June 1997), Milano Europa 2000, Palazzo di Triennale, Milan (November 2000), Facts of Life, an exhibition of contemporary Japanese art at the Hayward Gallery, (London Autumn 2001), and Days Like These, the Tate Triennial exhibition of contemporary British art (London 2003). He was part of the curatorial team of the Shanghai Biennale (September 2006). Jonathan Watkins has written extensively on contemporary art, and is the author of a Phaidon monograph on the Japanese artist On Kawara.

Mohammed Kazem
A native of Dubai, UAE Mohammed Kazem has been a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society in Sharjah since 1985, and has participated in the 7th Sharjah Biennial, the 1st Singapore Biennal, the 7th Havana Biennial, and the 1st Bangladesh Biennial and has exhibited internationally. Kazem curated the Emirates Fine Art Society Exhibition, concurrent with the Sharjah International Biennial, Sharjah Art Museum (2005). He also curated WINDOW Exhibition (16 UAE Artist), Total Arts Gallery, Dubai (2006). Kazem has taught painting at Art Atelier in the Youth Theatre and Arts in Dubai since 1999.


Sharjah Biennial 8 - Catalogue Editor: Serene Huleileh
Cultural management consultant, journalist, and writer. Editor of “This Week in Palestine”, monthly magazine promoting culture and arts in Palestine, and UNDP consultant for Ramallah and Jericho municipalities to set up a municipal cultural department. Since 2000, Regional Director of Arab Education Forum (Jordan), project established in 1998, focusing on learning and building knowledge upon indigenous experience. Initiator of pan-Arab projects: “Azkadunya” – website for the promotion and distribution of Arab cultural production, and “Safar - Arab youth mobility fund” – supporting Arab youth who are actively involved in community initiatives. Since December 2005, consultant for cultural affairs with the Greater Amman Municipality. Coordinator of Bethlehem 2000 millennium celebrations, developing major events including millennium New Year’s Eve celebration.

About the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The UAE is comprised of seven emirates including Sharjah and Dubai. Eighty-nine percent of the UAE’s population lives in urban areas and 90 percent of the nation’s territory is made up of desert. The economy of the UAE is based on its natural resources. Fossil fuel exports have made it the fourth wealthiest nation in the world. Its new stock market, paired with technology, media and the latest communications infrastructure, are attracting the world’s leading companies to move their operations and premises to the Emirates. In addition, recent liberalisation in the property market has resulted in a major boom in the construction and real estate sectors, with several signature developments.

About Sharjah
Sharjah is the third largest emirate of the UAE with a surface of 2,600 km² and an estimated population of 750,000 people (2005 census). It houses a large number of museums including the Sharjah Art Museum, several archaeological museums and a heritage conservation area comprised of old souks and buildings. There is also an arts area made up of several museums, galleries, artists’ studios and educational establishments. Sharjah is home to a number of universities and colleges such as the American University of Sharjah, the University of Sharjah, two higher colleges of technology and others.


Sharjah Expo Center
Box 3222, Sharjah

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