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Sharjah Biennial 17 Announces Title, Curators, and 109 Participants

festival-fair · 2026-05-18

The Sharjah Art Foundation has announced the upcoming 17th edition of the Sharjah Biennial, themed "What remains, sits restive," scheduled to take place from January 21 to June 13, 2027, with an opening week from January 21–24, 2027. This biennial will showcase 109 artists across various locations in the Emirate of Sharjah. Co-curators Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento will lead the exhibition, which delves into the impact of unlived histories on contemporary life. Harutyunyan's segment features 55 artists focusing on the legacies of socialist modernity, while Nascimento's 54 participants explore the relationships between space, place, and memory through infrastructure. Harutyunyan is a professor at Berlin University of the Arts and a co-founder of the Ashot Johannissyan Research Institute in Yerevan, while Nascimento, based in Luanda, has curated the award-winning Angola Pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale. The biennial seeks to address issues of cultural silencing and alienation in late capitalism through artistic expression.

Key facts

  • Sharjah Biennial 17 is titled 'What remains, sits restive'.
  • The biennial runs from January 21 to June 13, 2027.
  • Opening week is January 21–24, 2027.
  • 109 participants are included in the biennial.
  • Co-curators are Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento.
  • Harutyunyan's section has 55 participants; Nascimento's has 54.
  • Harutyunyan is a professor at Berlin University of the Arts.
  • Nascimento co-curated the Angola Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, which won the Golden Lion in 2013.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Sharjah Art Foundation
  • Berlin University of the Arts
  • Ashot Johannissyan Research Institute in the Humanities
  • Beirut Institute of Critical Analysis and Research
  • Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam
  • American University of Beirut Art Galleries
  • University of Manchester
  • American University in Cairo
  • American University of Beirut
  • ARTMargins
  • Manchester University Press
  • Lubumbashi Biennial
  • Rencontres de Bamako–African Biennale of Photography
  • Experimenta Design
  • Triennale di Milano
  • Angola Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale
  • Hangar Centre of Artistic Research
  • CAM–Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian
  • Biennial Foundation

Locations

  • Sharjah
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Gyumri
  • Armenia
  • Yerevan
  • Beirut
  • Lebanon
  • Amsterdam
  • Netherlands
  • Manchester
  • United Kingdom
  • Cairo
  • Egypt
  • Luanda
  • Angola
  • Lubumbashi
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Bamako
  • Mali
  • Milan
  • Italy
  • Venice
  • Lisbon
  • Portugal

Sources

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