NEWS: Theme and Participating Artists of UAE National Pavilion at 56th Venice Biennale Announced
On January 27, Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan al-Qasimi, curator of the national pavilion of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the 56th Venice Biennale, announced the 14 Emirati artists whose works will be featured in the exhibition. The first Emirati curator to head theUAE pavilion, which was initiated in 2009, Sheikha Hoor is also president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation and has been a guiding force behind the Sharjah Biennial since taking over its program in 2003. Titled “1980-Today: Exhibitions in the UAE,” this year’s national pavilion will examine four formative decades in the emergence of contemporary art practices in the Emirates. The exhibition takes as its departure point the Emirates Fine Arts Society, a non-profit association founded in Sharjah in 1980, which was instrumental in training artists and nurturing talent in the country.
