Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present

Overview

This publication accompanied the 15th edition of Sharjah Biennial (SB15), conceived by the late Okwui Enwezor and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation. The presentation reflected on Enwezor’s visionary work, which transformed contemporary art and established an ambitious intellectual project that has influenced the evolution of institutions and biennials around the world, including Sharjah Biennial. SB15 was a retroactive and momentous edition, enacting the multi-layered histories of the Biennial itself and Sharjah as host city. It brought together artists, practitioners and programmes that have been critiquing monolithic understandings of nationhood, tradition, race, gender, body and imagination, in order to present a nuanced take on contemporary practices informed by postcolonial subjectivity.

Designed as a companion and guide for visitors of SB15, the publication includes spreads dedicated to all participating artists with an overview of each individual’s practice and a description of their work on view. Artists were divided by the city and venue in which they were displayed. Al Qasimi’s curatorial statement discusses the impact of the edition and the underlying themes of the work presented.

Participating artists included Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Maitha Abdalla, Fathi Afifi, Hoda Afshar, John Akomfrah, Moza Almatrooshi, Marwah AlMugait, Hangama Amiri, Brook Andrew, Malala Andrialavidrazana, Rushdi Anwar, Kader Attia, Au Sow Yee, Dana Awartani, Omar Badsha, Natalie Ball, Sammy Baloji, Mirna Bamieh, Pablo Bartholomew and Richard Bartholomew, Shiraz Bayjoo, Bahar Behbahani, Asma Belhamar, Rebecca Belmore, Black Grace, Diedrick Brackens, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cao Fei, Carolina Caycedo, Ali Cherri, Wook-kyung Choi, Maya Cozier, Iftikhar Dadi and Elizabeth Dadi, Solmaz Daryani, Annalee Davis with Yoeri Guépin, Destiny Deacon, Manthia Diawara, Imane Djamil, Anju Dodiya, Kimathi Donkor, Heri Dono, Rehab Eldalil, Ali Eyal, Marianne Fahmy, Brenda Fajardo, Raheleh Filsoofi, Nina Fischer and Maroan el Sani, Coco Fusco, Flavia Gandolfo, Theaster Gates, Malek Gnaoui and Ala Eddine Slim, Gabriela Golder, Gabrielle Goliath, Yulia Grigoryants, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Hassan Hajjaj, David Hammons, Archana Hande, Fathi Hassan, Mona Hatoum, Rachid Hedli and Compagnie Niya, Lubaina Himid, Laura Huertas Millán, Saodat Ismailova, Isaac Julien, Saddam Al Jumaily, patricia kaersenhout, Robyn Kahukiwa, Reena Saini Kallat, Hanni Kamaly, Amar Kanwar, Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer with Oba, Bouchra Khalili, Naiza Khan, Tania El Khoury, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Ayoung Kim, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Hiroji Kubota, Remi Kuforiji, Lee Kai Chung, Faustin Linyekula, The Living and the Dead Ensemble, Ibrahim Mahama, Nabil El Makhloufi, Jawad Al Malhi, Waheeda Malullah, Maharani Mancanagara, mandla, Lavanya Mani, Kerry James Marshall, Queenie McKenzie, Steve McQueen, Marisol Mendez, Almagul Menlibayeva, Helina Metaferia, Kimowan Metchewais, Meleanna Meyer, Joiri Minaya, Tahila Mintz, Roméo Mivekannin, Tracey Moffatt, Aline Motta, Wangechi Mutu, Eubena Nampitjin, Dala Nasser, New Red Order (NRO), Pipo Nguyen-Duy, Mame-Diarra Niang, Shelley Niro, Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, Elia Nurvista, Kambui Olujimi, Zohra Opoku, Selma Ouissi and Sofiane Ouissi, Erkan Özgen, Pak Khawateen Painting Club, Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, Hyesoo Park, Philippe Parreno, Ángela Ponce, Prajakta Potnis, Anita Pouchard Serra, Jasbir Puar and Dima Srouji, Monira Al Qadiri, Farah Al Qasimi, Nusra Latif Qureshi, Michael Rakowitz, Umar Rashid, Wendy Red Star, Veronica Ryan, Doris Salcedo, Abdulraheem Salim, Sangeeta Sandrasegar, Varunika Saraf, Khadija Saye, Berni Searle, Mithu Sen, Nelly Sethna, Aziza Shadenova, Smita Sharma, Nilima Sheikh, Yinka Shonibare, Felix Shumba, Semsar Siahaan, Mary Sibande, Kahurangiariki Smith, Mounira Al Solh, Inuuteq Storch, Vivan Sundaram, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Obaid Suroor, Hank Willis Thomas, Akeim Toussaint Buck, Hajra Waheed, Barbara Walker, Wang Jianwei, Nari Ward, Carrie Mae Weems and Nil Yalter.