Sharjah is well-known for its arts scene, and now there’s even more to look forward to. The Sharjah Art Foundation is opening three exhibitions this Saturday (October 12) including the first retrospective for Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, after she passed away earlier this year.
Visitors will be able to look at more than 70 works by the Iranian artist who lived between New York and Tehran.
Farmanfarmaian was known for unique combination of traditional Persian techniques and contemporary Western abstraction, with the title of the show, Sunset, Sunrise, invoking the sky that separates and connects the East and West.
She worked in a number of mediums including painting, sculpture, jewellery and collages, and you’ll also be able to see some of her signature mirrored works.
Another exhibition on show this autumn is Bani Abidi: Funland, whose work deals with questions of personal memory, patriotism and geopolitics through the lens of present-day Pakistan.
Two new pieces, including one on the persecuted Hazara community who have moved from Pakistan to Germany, will be on display.
Artists chosen for Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual educational resident programme the March Project will also be displaying their works for the first time.
Saeed Al Madani, Farah Al Qasimi, Asma Belhamar and May Rashed from the United Arab Emirates, Filwa Nazer from Saudi Arabia and Mario Santanilla from Colombia, have created works focusing on the relationships between architecture, the built environment and the body.
Their pieces also focus on heritage and contemporary practices that make up our social, visual and cultural fabric.
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Sunset, Sunrise. Sat Oct 12-Sat Dec 28 9am-9pm, except Fri. Al Hamriyah Studios, Al Hamriyah, Sharjah (06 544 4113).
Bani Abidi: Funland. Sat Oct 12-Sun Jan 12, 2020 9am-9pm. Bait Al Serkal, Arts Square, Al Shuwaiheen, Sharjah (06 568 5050).
March Project 2019 Exhibition. Sat Oct 12-Mon Jan 20, 2020 9am-9pm. Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, Arts Square, Al Shuwaiheen; Dar Al Nadwa and Ceramics House, Calligraphy Square; and Bait Al Hurma, Al Mureijah Art Spaces, Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah (06 568 5050).
