Sharjah Biennial 16

Tahila Mintz engages with ancestral systems of matriarchy, gender equality and contemporary issues impacting Indigenous societies.

Barbara Walker’s figurative art practice interrogates past and contemporary manifestations of issues at the intersection of racial identity, belonging, class, power and body politics.

Waheeda Malullah’s practice examines the socialised norms of Bahraini society and the wider Arabian Gulf through a playful,
performative lens.

Yinka Shonibare’s practice is situated in conversation with the growing activism around the decolonisation of public spaces
and the reorientation of historical education

Khadija Saye (1992–2017) explored notions of traditional African spirituality and ritual as embodied practices to overcome trauma
and despair.

Writer and filmmaker Maya Cozier draws from her experience as a dancer and choreographer to create works that focus on West African and Caribbean history and culture.

Nabil El Makhloufi grapples with themes of self-authorship,
alienation, nostalgia and the cultural plurality of migration.

patricia kaersenhout is an artist and activist who examines hidden and forgotten stories, delving into ignored histories of the African diaspora and its movements around the globe.

At the intersection of art and activism, Hank Willis Thomas’ work reframes material from contemporary consumer culture and histories of colonialism, shedding light on the legacy
of oppressive systems and stereotypes.

Anita Pouchard Serra’s visual storytelling practice draws from her transnational lived experience and engagement with social issues such as migration and women’s rights.

Joiri Minaya is a Dominican- American multidisciplinary artist whose work investigates the continuity of colonial power hierarchies, often exploring the performativity of tropical identity and its commodification.

Concerned with notions of dislocation and belonging, Veronica Ryan’s sculptures evoke shapes, forms and objects associated
with her heritage.

Questioning orientalist discourse, Lavanya Mani recontextualises the fantastical myths and fables
disseminated by Victorian travellers and the histories of traditional textile production.

Kerry James Marshall is a visual artist best known for his large- scale acrylic paintings chronicling the modern African-American experience and claiming space for Black representation in a medium from which Black figures have historically been excluded.

Archana Hande reflects on the nuances of growing up in the shadow of colonialism in India and the reproduction of power through industrialisation.