Sharjah Art Foundation's March Meeting 2021: Unravelling the Present

The Sharjah Art Foundation held its March Meeting 2021 virtually from March 12-21, titled "Unravelling the Present," which anticipated themes for the upcoming Sharjah Biennial curated posthumously by Okwui Enwezor. The meeting revisited past biennial editions (since 1993), highlighting a shift from an Arab world focus to a Global South perspective. Key discussions included decolonization, decentralization, and the creation of alternative cultural centers, referencing Documenta 11 (2002) curated by Enwezor. Speakers addressed the proliferation of biennials in Southeast Asia, such as the Lahore Biennale (Pakistan), Kochi-Muziris Biennale (India), and Thailand Biennial, emphasizing local community engagement. Repatriation of cultural artifacts was debated by Chika Okeke-Agulu, who discussed the Edo Museum project by David Adjaye involving loans from the British Museum for Benin bronzes. Andrea Wallace examined digital repatriation and surrogate ontologies. Notable interventions included John Akomfrah on Stuart Hall's legacy, Adrian Lahoud on decolonizing architecture exhibitions, Manthia Diawara on opacity and Négritude, and Rayyane Tabet on the contradictions of East-West relations through his "Exquisite Corpse" exhibition featuring fragments from Tell Halaf excavations.