Sharjah Art Foundation Presents International Programme of November 2011 Exhibitions and Collaborations

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), November 14, 2011—The Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) presents a diverse programme of international exhibitions and collaborations beginning in November 2011, and announces the open call for its 2012 March Meeting, to take place from March 17 through 19, 2012 in Sharjah. The March Meeting is an annual, three-day symposium that offers a platform for the exchange of ideas among art and cultural practitioners from around the world.

World Premiere of Tarek Atouiʼs Visiting Tarab, November 5, 2011 (New York City) Middle East Premiere of Visiting Tarab, March 19, 2012 (Sharjah) On November 5, 2011, at New York Cityʼs SIR Stage37, the Sharjah Art Foundation presented the world premiere of nomadic sound artist Tarek Atouiʼs Visiting Tarab, an evening of music co-commissioned with Performa 11, the internationally acclaimed New York performance art biennial. Visiting Tarab will have its Middle East premiere in Sharjah on March 19, 2012, during the March Meeting, March 17 through 19.

A sound sculpture through which 17 experimental musicians reinterpret classical Arab music, the five-hour performance of Visiting Tarab included contributions from Anti-Pop Consortium, Uriel Barthelemi, Jonathan Butcher, Maria Calix, DJ Spooky, Lukas Ligeti, Robert Lowe, Raz Mesinai, Ikue Mori, Sara Parkins, Zeena Parkins, Elliott Sharp, Zafer Tawil, and George Ziadeh. Audience members relaxed in front of the stage on a carpet and lounge pillows to experience the transporting music.

At a celebration of Visiting Tarab hosted by the Sharjah Art Foundation and its President Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi on the mezzanine of SIR Stage37, the Foundation and artist Tarek Atoui were joined by fellow performers including Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky) and Raz Mesinai; along with RoseLee Goldberg, Performa Founding Director and Curator; Klaus Biesenbach, Director of MoMA PS1; Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects at the Serpentine Gallery (London); Alexander Gilkes, Co-Founder of Paddle8.com; Todd Bishop, Director of Exhibition Funding at MoMA; and many others.

Sharjah Art Foundation President Hoor Al Qasimi says, 'We were delighted to see the New York audienceʼs enthusiasm for Tarek Atouiʼs visionary treatment of traditional Arab music. It was an exciting evening, the venue was packed, and people stayed for hours enjoying the relaxed atmosphere as various artists performed. It was also a pleasure to collaborate with Performa as one of New Yorkʼs premiere arts organizations, and to bring this culture of Arab musical traditions to the United States. We look forward to presenting the Middle East Premiere of this work next March during the Sharjah Art Foundationʼs annual March Meeting.'

Drift - an exploration of urban & suburban landscapes (Sharjah)
November 14, 2011 – January 14, 2012
Curated by Sharjah Art Foundation President Hoor Al Qasimi, Drift - an exploration of urban & suburban landscapes is an exhibition of works from Sharjah Art Foundationʼs collection by ten contemporary artists: Hala Al-Ani, Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Kader Attia, Doug Henders, Bouchra Khalili, Hiroyuki Masuyama, Rika Noguchi, Marwan Rechmaoui, Hrair Sarkissian, and Zineb Sedira. The artists offer a personal response in their works to specific landscapes, or to the ideas and conventions that influence how society constructs a common view. Through its revelations and provocations, the exhibition suggests imaginative new ways of exploring and discovering the urban and suburban landscapes we encounter in our daily lives.

Sharjah Biennial 10: Film and Audio Commissions (Sharjah)
November 14, 2011 – January 14, 2012
Sharjah Biennial 10: Film and Audio Commissions is an exhibition of seven films and three audio works by filmmakers including Karim Aïnouz, Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia, Hicham Ayouch, Ali Essafi, Sean Gullette, Bahman Kiarostami, and Rania Stephan. Six of these filmmakers were invited to create a new short film inspired by the Biennialʼs title, Plot for a Biennial (2010), and the key words that constituted its conceptual framework: Treason, Affiliation, Corruption, Necessity, Devotion, Disclosure, Translation, and Insurrection. Three of the filmmakers additionally created audio works that reflect the energy and passion of the Arab Spring of 2010 during which they werecreated. Also on view will be Rania Stephanʼs Sharjah Biennial Prize-winning film, The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni.

This Situation by Tino Sehgal (Sharjah)
November 17 – 20, 2011
Organised by the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, the work This Situation by Tino Sehgal will be shown in cooperation with the Sharjah Art Foundation in the UAE as part of a broader tour that includes Southeast Europe, Iran and India. The tour will culminate in Tino Sehgalʼs solo exhibition at the Tate Modern in London in July 2012. The German-British artist won international recognition with his installation in the German pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2005 and with exhibitions in major venues like the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Fifth Annual March Meeting (Sharjah)
Working with Artists and Audiences on Commissions and Residencies
March 17 – 19, 2012
The Sharjah Art Foundation announces the open call for proposals for talks and presentations based on the theme of the 2012 March Meeting: Working with Artists and Audiences on Commissions and Residencies. Those interested in submitting an application may visit the March Meeting page of the Sharjah Art Foundationʼs web site at: http://www.sharjahart.org/march-meeting/.

Established in 2008, the March Meeting provides a critical platform for the exchange of ideas and the investigation of collaborative possibilities to international art and cultural leaders working in or with the art of the region.

Sharjah Art Foundation President Hoor Al Qasimi explains, 'Over the years, the March Meeting has proven a critically important forum for art practitioners to consider the issues, challenges, and opportunities of working with or in the region. For 2012, we are particularly excited to be exploring the topic of commissions and residencies as these activities are increasingly central to our work with artists and audiences both in the UAE and internationally.'

In addition to the conference, the Sharjah Art Foundation offers special programming during the March Meeting.

March 16: Opening of the exhibition Ziad Antar: Coastline, presenting photographs of the United Arab Emirates coastline created during Antarʼs 2011 residency at the Sharjah Art Foudation. The exhibition remains on view through May 16, 2012.

March 17, 18, and 24: The Middle East film premiere of Artangelʼs commission 1395 Days Without Red, by Sejla Kameric and Anri Sala, in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers.

March 18: Opening of Basma Al Sharifʼs installation project, developed during her Sharjah Art Foundation residency in 2010. It remains on view through May 18, 2012.

March 19: The Sharjah premiere of Tarek Atouiʼs Visiting Tarab, a performance cocommissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation and New Yorkʼs Performa, the visual arts performance biennial.