Sharjah Biennial 16

At the intersection of art and activism, Meleanna Meyer’s practice draws from Hawaiian history, cultural anthropology, Indigenous linguistics, architecture and set design.

Theaster Gates is a visual artist, archivist, curator and musician whose practice explores Black identity and history through material investigations into labour, spirituality, vacancy and spatiality.

New Red Order engages with a network of collaborators to produce video, performance and installation works that challenge contemporary colonial strategies and examine obstacles to Indigenous growth.

Nina Fischer and Maroan el Sani investigate collective memory and perceptions of social and political turmoil through the lens of transitory public spaces and the built environment.

Umar Rashid, also known as Frohawk Two Feathers, is a multidisciplinary artist and the dedicated historian and
cosmographer of his own fictional universe, the Frenglish Empire (1648–1880).

Maharani Mancanagara unravels the complex cultural and sociopolitical history of her homeland, Indonesia, breathing new life into stories that fall outside the realm of popular documented history.

Smita Sharma’s photojournalistic work centres the traumatised and forgotten voices of those subjected to human rights abuses.

At the intersection of conceptual, staged and documentary image- making, Hoda Afshar’s lens- based artistic practice explores the representation of gender, marginality and displacement.

Coco Fusco’s practice engages with themes of power, race and the sociopolitical ramifications of Cuban exile.

By juxtaposing mass media depictions of Indigenous peoples with authentic cultural identities, Wendy Red Star creates personal, playful, revelatory and unsettling work.

Emirati-Lebanese artist Farah Al Qasimi’s multidisciplinary practice examines postcolonial power structures and gender roles and is visually grounded in the aesthetics of post-internet consumer culture.