Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) has announced full details of the Opening Week Programme for Sharjah Biennial 11 (SB11), Re:emerge – Towards a New Cultural Cartography, March 13–May 13, 2013, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Events March 13–17 will include performances, films, lectures, and the annual March Meeting, a symposium featuring presentations, thematic sessions, and panels that will contextualise the concept of SB11.
SB11 Opening Week Programme:
On Wednesday, March 13, the opening of SB11 will mark the inauguration of SAF’s five new multi-functional art spaces in the Sharjah Heritage Area. The opening day of SB11 will include performances which will repeat on Thursday and Friday: Dictum 10:120 by Wael Shawky; Metricized, an SB11 commissioned performance by 10 drummers, composed by Tarek Atoui; and Terra Incognita, et cetera, by Tintin Wulia. There will also be performances by Otobong Nkanga and Tony Chakar, and the night will conclude with the SB11 Awards ceremony.
The March Meeting begins on Thursday, March 14, followed by an evening performance by Shahzia Sikander. The SB11 Film Programme begins with a panel discussion curated by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and includes the film programmers Steve Anker, Khavn De La Cruz, Ali Jaafar, Mehelli Modi, Alcino Leite Neto, Jean-Pierre Rehm, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The Film Programme includes evening screenings in an outdoor cinema in SAF’s new art spaces.
On Friday, March 15, the March Meeting and Film Programme continue. A performance by Işıl Eğrikavuk, Snapshot, takes place in the evening. In an additional performance, with a special appearance by Ryuichi Sakamoto, alva noto offers an audio-visual performance of his 2011 album univrs. The performance is based on the real-time manipulation of software-generated test images by audio signals. The resulting patterns constantly change without any recurrence. Also on March 15 is a panel discussion led by Khavn de la Cruz, which explores SB11 commissioned films from the Philippines, followed by film screenings.
On Saturday, March 16, the March Meeting and Film Programme continue. There will be a book launch for a publication based on March Meeting 2012. A Film Programme panel discussion led by Ali Jaafar discusses SB11 commissioned films from the Middle East.
Sunday, March 17, is the final day of the March Meeting. An evening performance by Hassan Khan takes place, Live Ammunition: music for clapping, string quartet and electronics, followed by film screenings. In addition to the Opening Week Programme, there will be artist-led tours of SB11, as well as organised visits to museums and other sites within Sharjah.
March Meeting 2013 explores the concept of SB11. Inspired by the courtyard in Islamic architecture—in particular the historical courtyards of Sharjah, where elements of both public and private life intertwine—SB11 Curator Yuko Hasegawa proposes a new cultural cartography that reconsiders the relationships between the Arab world, Asia, the Far East, through North Africa to Latin America. March Meeting 2013 speakers include Sarat Maharaj, Professor of Visual Art & Knowledge Systems, Lund University and the Malmö Art Academies, Sweden; Paulo Herkenhoff, Director, Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Brazil; Hu Fang, Artistic Director, Vitamin Creative Space, China; Patrick D. Flores, Curator, Vargas Museum, Philippines; and Samir Amin, President, World Forum for Alternatives, Senegal.
SAF has announced the names of more than 100 artists, architects, and musicians invited to participate in SB11. The list of artists is online here.
About Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF)
SAF brings a broad range of contemporary art and cultural programmes to the communities of Sharjah, the UAE, and the region. Since 2009, SAF has built on the history of cultural collaboration and exchange that began with the first Sharjah Biennial in 1993.
For more information on SAF and its programmes, visit www.sharjahart.org
