An exhibition of contemporary art, the Sharjah Biennial, is a dream come true for any art enthusiast. As the name suggests, the large-scale art and cultural festival occurs once every two years. The biennial is open to the public. Every year the Sharjah Art Foundation decides a theme for the Biennial.
Sharjah Biennial 2025
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The 2025 Biennial theme, "to carry" is about recognizing our vulnerability in unfamiliar places while staying connected to our cultures. The biennial, titled “to carry,” is curated by Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala, and Zeynep Öz. The biennial is generally held between the months of March and June.
Sharjah Biennial 2025 - Dates and Venue
Sharjah Biennial 2025 Dates: 6th February to 15th June 2025 Sharjah Biennial Venue: Sharjah Art Foundation Art Spaces, the Sharjah Art Museum, and the nearby traditional buildings and courtyards of the Arts and Heritage areas. Apart from Sharjah the exhibitions also take place in Kalba, a city in the Emirate of Sharjah.
For Sharjah Venues: 9:00 am–9:00 pm, Saturday to Thursday 4:00 pm–11:00 pm on Friday
For Kalba Venues: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Saturday to Thursday 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Friday
Artists at the Sharjah Biennial 2025
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The 16th Sharjah Biennial, is featuring over 140 artists across venues in the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE. Curated by Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala, and Zeynep Öz, it explores themes of identity, migration, and shared history. The Biennial highlights Indigenous artists like Faye Heavyshield, Raven Chacon, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Sky Hopinka, and Daniel Boyd, echoing representation from the Venice Biennale. Compared to its previous edition, the 2025 Biennial increases new commissions from 70 to 82 works.
Key participating artists include Arthur Jafa, Hugh Hayden, Lorna Simpson, and many more from around the world.
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Ranging from film programs to art education, Sharjah Biennial brings its audience a variety of free courses to choose from. In 2023 the Sharjah Art Foundation conducted,
- Education and Community Outreach Programme - Film Programme - Art Education Programme
There have been courses in Education and Public Programme and a lecture series with artists in the past years.
History of the Sharjah Biennial
The Biennial started in 1993 and was initially organized by the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information. Initially, the Biennial focused on promoting traditional and regional arts and practices, and only one artist was allowed from each participating country. But the organization of this international event was taken over by the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2009. Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, has played a pivotal role in creating the present image of the Sharjah biennial. The Biennial is now more involved in representing individual artists and their vision. In 1993 the biennial, which started as a commercially oriented exhibition, has now developed into various workshops and performances.
