The Sharjah Art Foundation has released the list of artists participating in the Sharjah Biennial 2024. The 16th edition of the biennial, scheduled for February 6–June 15, 2025, will see contributions from more than 140 artists, including Arthur Jafa, Hugh Hayden, and Lorna Simpson. The works will be presented at various venues across Sharjah City, Al Hamriyah, Al Dhaid, Kalba, and other locations in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The biennial, titled “to carry,” is curated by Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala, and Zeynep Öz. The theme is meant to be “an open-ended proposition,” allowing artists to examine the various burdens, legacies, and experiences that people and societies have carried throughout history, particularly addressing themes of identity, migration, and collective memory.
“The constellation of diverse methodologies that the five curators have gathered offers audiences the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking dialogues bridging the local context with global narratives about identity, movement, change, and collectivity,” said Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of Sharjah Art Foundation. “By centering the act of carrying, Sharjah Biennial 16 offers a space for imagining new collective futures while recognizing the weight of shared histories and experiences.”
The 2025 Sharjah Biennial prominently features a diverse array of Indigenous artists, echoing the representation seen at this year’s Venice Biennale. Indigenous artists featured in both biennials include Faye Heavyshield, Raven Chacon, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Sky Hopinka, and Daniel Boyd, among others.
In contrast to the 15th edition of the Sharjah Biennial, which presented 300 works, including 70 new commissions, the forthcoming biennial has increased the number of new works to 82. The full list of participating artists is as follows:
(*Presenting new commissions)
