Sharjah Biennial

The Sharjah Biennial is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The first Sharjah Biennial took place in 1993, and was organized by the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information until it is reorientation in 2003 by Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi.
History.
2005 – Sharjah Biennial 7.
The 7th edition, titled "Belonging", was curated by Jack Persekian, Ken Lum and Tirdad Zolghadr. and took place between 6 April to 6 June 2005. The exhibition centred on the issues of 'belonging, identity and cultural location'.
2007 – Sharjah Biennial 8.
"Still Life: Art, Ecology, and the Politics of Change" was curated by Mohammed Kazem, Jonathan Watkins, and Eva Scharrer. The exhibition was hosted between 4 April to 4 June 2007 at Sharjah Art Museum, Expo Centre Sharjah, Heritage Area, American University of Sharjah & several outdoor locations in Sharjah.
2009 - Sharjah Biennial 9.
The 9th Sharjah Biennial's exhibition programme "Provisions For The Future" was curated by Isabel Carlos, and the performance and film programme "Past Of The Coming Days" was curated by Tarek Abou El Fetouh. The exhibition was hosted between 19 March to 16 May 2009.
Participating artists at SB9 included Hamra Abbas, Diana Al-Hadid, Firoz Mahmud, Halil Altindere, Juan Araújo, Tarek Atoui, Lili Dujourie, Hala Elkoussy, Ayse Erkmen, Amir H. Fallah, Lara Favaretto, Lamya Gargash, Mariam Ghani, Simryn Gill, Sheela Gowda, Laurent Grasso, NS Harsha, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Lamia Joreige, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Hayv Kahraman, Nadia Kaabi Linke, Maider López, Liliana Porter, Karin Sander, Liu Wei, Lawrence Weiner, Yonamine, Nika Oblak & Primõz Novak, Basma Al-Sharif, Nida Sinnokrot, David Spriggs, and Lawrence Weiner among others.
2011 – Sharjah Biennial 10.
"Plot for a Biennial", the 10th edition of the biennial, was curated by Suzanne Cotter and Rasha Salti, alongside Haig Aivazian, and was hosted from 16 March through to 16 May 2011. SB10 covered the so-called Arab Spring, the movement aspiring for political change that had been ongoing in various Arabic countries for several months around that period. The biennial was hosted across several venues in the heart of Sharjah, including landmarks of Emirati architecture and Sharjah’s historic Cricket Stadium. The exhibition included 119 artists and participants from 36 countries across the globe.
2013 – Sharjah Biennial 11.
The 11th edition of the biennial, "Re:emerge: Towards a New Cultural Cartography", was hosted between 13 March to 13 May 2013 and was curated by Yuko Hasegawa, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.
Participating artists included: Ravi Agarwal, Nevin Aladag, Francis Alÿs, Jananne Al-Ani, Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan, Matthew Barney and Elizabeth Peyton, Luz Maria Bedoya, David Claerbout, Olafur Eliasson, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Shilpa Gupta, Yu-ichi Inoue, Lamia Joreige, Jesper Just, Amar Kanwar, Kan Xuan, Pablo Lobato, Basir Mahmood, Cinthia Marcelle, Taus Makhacheva, Angelica Mesiti, Otobong Nkanga, Gabriel Orozco, Khaled Sabsabi, Pascale Marthine Tayou, and Fumito Urabe.
2015 – Sharjah Biennial 12.
"The past, the present, the possible", curated by Eungie Joo, took place at public spaces around the Sharjah Art Museum, the Sharjah Art Foundation offices and Al Mureijah heritage area. The 12th Biennial was held between 5 March — 5 June 2015.
2017 – Sharjah Biennial 13.
The 13th Biennial, titled "Tamawuj", was curated by Christine Tohmé and opened on 10 March 2017 with exhibitions in Sharjah and Beirut, alongside projects in Dakar, Ramallah, and Istanbul from October 2017 through January 2018.
2019 – Sharjah Biennial 14.
The 14th Biennial, "Leaving the Echo Chamber", was curated by Zoe Butt, Omar Kholeif and Claire Tancons. The exhibition opened at Sharjah Art Foundation premises on 7 March 2019, and ran until 10 June 2019.