Sharjah Biennial 2027 announces opening programme at four locations across the emirate
A performance reviving Gulf women’s sea songs and an art intervention in a 1970s cinema will feature in the opening programme for Sharjah Biennial 17, it has been announced. Exhibition tours, performances and screenings will take place across Sharjah city, Al Dhaid, Kalba and Khor Fakkan from January 21 to 24. Sharjah Art Foundation has also confirmed that its annual March Meeting will return…
Sharjah Biennial 17, titled "What Remains, Sits Restive," kicks off on January 21 with performances and exhibitions spread across four locations in Sharjah: the emirate's capital city, Al Dhaid, Kalba, and Khor Fakkan. The biennial, curated by Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento, will run until June 13 and showcase over 100 artists across 11 venues.
The opening programme includes Cynthia Zaven's performance, which revives the tradition of Gulf women's sea songs. These songs convey collective grief and affirm the roles of women left behind while men ventured to sea. Additionally, Angela Ferreira will stage an art intervention in a 1970s cinema, examining how architecture carries histories shaped by colonialism and its aftermath.
Sound plays a crucial role in several works, with Christian Salablanca Diaz presenting sound-generating sculptures inspired by memories of boat trips with his father through Costa Rica's Sierpe mangrove forest. Jessica Ekomane and Ntshepe Tsekere Bopape will also present sound performances in Sharjah's diverse landscapes.
The opening programme concludes with "Present Uneven," a selection of video works exploring how past political visions and aspirations continue to evolve. The two curators, Harutyunyan and Nascimento, will develop separate presentations, with Harutyunyan focusing on socialist modernity and anti-colonial struggles, and Nascimento exploring infrastructure, place, and memory.
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