On 6 February, Sharjah Biennial 16 (SB16), one of the Middle East’s most significant art events, opened to the public. Organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation and titled “to carry”, the Biennial is curated by Alia Swastika (Director of the Biennale Jogja Foundation, Yogyakarta), Amal Khalaf (Curator at Large, Public Practice at Serpentine Galleries, London), Megan Tamati-Quennell (Curator of modern and contemporary Māori and Indigenous art, New Zealand), Natasha Ginwala (Artistic Director at COLOMBOSCOPE) and independent curator Zeynep Öz. Running through 15 June 2025, SB16 offers a dynamic programme of exhibitions, performances, music, and film.
Exploring the idea of what we carry physically, emotionally, and historically, the Biennial reflects on how we navigate spaces that are not our own and how our cultural heritage shapes our responses to them. Through a discursive approach embracing diverse perspectives, the theme “to carry” connects stories and traditions across generations and geographies, questioning what we bring with us when we travel, flee, survive, or remain.
SB16 unfolds across 17 venues throughout the Emirate of Sharjah, including Sharjah City, Al Hamriyah, Al Dhaid, and Kalba. It features over 650 works by almost 200 participants, with more than 200 new commissions, amplifying narratives from multiple cultures, languages, and histories.
Among the featured works is Gastromancer (2023) by Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri, an audio installation of two large red fibreglass murex shells suspended in midair. Their inner cavities emit a dialogue recounting the shells’ unintended transition from female to male due to industrial pollution: a shift that renders them infertile and threatens their survival. The piece critiques the ecological destruction caused by relentless resource extraction.
In Al Madam, a ghost town built in the 1970s for local tribal communities but later abandoned, Diné composer and artist Raven Chacon presents A Wandering Breeze (2025). This sound installation carries the voices of Bedouin singers through deserted homes overtaken by the desert, becoming a haunting tribute to Indigenous resilience.
Also in Al Madam Village, American artist Hugh Hayden’s Brier Patch (2022) reimagines the classroom as a site of struggle. His installation features a grid of school desks, each bursting with tangled cedar branches, and draws inspiration from African American folklore and his lineage of educators.
Italian artist Rossella Biscotti examines nature as a resource and a site of conflict in Saturated Salty Mud Stories (2025), an installation composed of three of her works: Circulations, Oil Vessels: Time Smuggling Geometry, and Sand Portables. The first piece transforms oil and gas pipelines into sprawling sculptures, referencing the UAE’s energy industry. Oil Vessels reinvents ancient Islamic oil and perfume containers in glass, while Sand Portables, developed with ceramist Maia Beyrouti, experiments with ceramic and glaze techniques using materials partially sourced from Sharjah.
Another highlight is Dub Plants (2024–2025), a sculpture by Lebanese artist and musician Joe Namy. This bamboo radio tower with speakers explores the intersection of radio culture and agriculture, playing a sound composition referencing key moments in radio history, such as Marconi’s 1920 Thames Estuary broadcast.
To get more information about Sharjah Biennial 16, please go to the official web page of the event.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial and viewing Tarabot: Weaving a Living Forum in Jaddaf Waterfront Sculpture Park.
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