Including a series of commissions from visiting writers, artists and staff members, this publication serves as a comprehensive diary written during the opening week of the Biennial.
The text contributions vary wildly: musings on the day before the show opened; the messy, sleepless process of meeting a deadline; a discursive, emailed exchange-as-critique; a consideration of connections between the distinctive smells of the Emirate and childhood memory; and, for one writer in Ramallah, a biennial extracted from the corridors of his imagination and set against the checkpoints of his return journey to Sharjah.
Additionally, artists were invited to submit contributions that reflected on the experience of making and exhibiting their work in Sharjah. The book also includes documentary images of the finished works on show in the Biennial.
About the Editors
Antonia Carver is Director of Art Jameel, which supports artists and creative communities. She has written extensively on Middle Eastern art and film; regularly speaks at local and international conferences; and sits on governmental and non-governmental boards and committees.
Lara Khaldi is an independent curator and critic based in Jerusalem. Khaldi lectures in media studies at Al-Quds Bard College in Jerusalem and previously taught art history and theory at Palestine’s Birzeit University.
About the Publishers
Sharjah Art Foundation hosts numerous activities and events throughout the year, from exhibitions featuring the work of Arab and international artists, live music and performances to film screenings and artist talks as well as extensive art education programmes for children, adults and families. Additionally, the Foundation has over the years published a range of books that include Sharjah Biennial and exhibition catalogues, books about the March Meetings and limited-edition artists’ publications.
Since its founding in 2004, the award-winning Middle Eastern art and culture magazine Bidoun has pioneered a distinctive voice that is intelligent, critical and original in its coverage of the arts and culture scene of the Middle East. Serving as a platform—for new questions, images and ideas about the Middle East, Bidoun’s activities fall under three primary areas: publishing, education and curation, its projects including artist commissions, talks, tours, performances and an online archive of avant-garde media.
