Timeframe: Three decades of the Sharjah Biennial

Longest-running arts event in the UAE is preparing for its 15th staging this month

Colombian artist Oscar Murillo's installation at Al Serkal House during the 2017 Sharjah Biennial. Reem Mohammed / The National

Schoolchildren playing with a giant ball in Al Hamdan bin Mousa Square at Sharjah Biennial 12. Pawan Singh / The National

Artwork by Fahrelnissa Zeid on display at Sharjah Biennial 12. Pawan Singh / The National

Nikhil Chopra's Use Like Water performance at the Bait Obaid Al Shamsi during Sharjah Biennial 12. Pawan Singh / The National

Oscar Murillo, a Colombian artist, works in his installation at Al Serkal House, in preparation for the 2017 Sharjah Biennial. Reem Mohammed / The National

Wooden boat, steel anchor, pulleys and rope installation by Rayyane Tabet at Sharjah Biennial 12. Pawan Singh / The National

Video still from The Communist Revolution Was Caused by the Sun by Anton Vidokle at Sharjah Biennial 13: Tamawuj. Photo: Anton Vidokle

Boundary Boys I by Jesse Darling at Sharjah Biennial 13: Tamawuj Act II. Photo: Jesse Darling

Claire Tancons was one of the co-curators of Sharjah Biennial 14. Reem Mohammed / The National. 

The 14th biennial, Leaving the Echo Chamber, explored the possibilities and purpose of producing art in the face of news that is derived from a monopoly of sources. Reem Mohammed / The National 

Al Hamriyah Studios, Sharjah Art Foundation's newest venue, was part of Sharjah Biennial 13. Photo: Lola Boatwright

Wael Shawky's Dictums 10:120, a live installation with 32 performers, microphones, wooden platform, cushions and sound system at Sharjah Biennial 12. Photo: Wael Shawky

Tarek Abou El Fetouh, curator of film and performance for the 2009 Sharjah Biennial in front of Noor by Giuseppe Moscatello. Nicole Hill / The National

Isabel Carlos, here in front of Spells on our Youth by Diana Al-Hadid, was curator of the Sharjah Biennial in 2009. Nicole Hill / The National

Sharjah Biennial 14 was held under the theme Leaving the Echo Chamber. Reem Mohammed / The National

Part of Khalil Rabah's 48%, 67% installation at Sharjah Biennial 13. Photo: Khalil Rabah

Khalil Rabah's 48%, 67% installation continued. Photo: Khalil Rabah

Nusra Latif Qureshi's The Ideal Floral Background was displayed at Sharjah Biennial 15. Photo: Nusra Latif Qureshi and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne

Carolina Caycedo's Aluminum Intensive, commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation, was displayed at Sharjah Biennial 15. Photo: Carolina Caycedo

Grieving and Mycelium by Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, featured at Sharjah Biennial 15. Photo: Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah

An installation at Sharjah Biennial 14 reflecting the theme Leaving the Echo Chamber. Reem Mohammed / The National

A performance of Tarek Atoui's Within at Sharjah Biennial 11. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

Vikram Divecha starting his Beej 2017 project for Sharjah Biennial 13, where food crops were planted on this roundabout in Al Nabaah area. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Omar Kholeif was one of the curators of Sharjah Biennial 14. Reem Mohammed / The National

Tonica Lemos Auad's A Moment of the Sky / Four Humours at Sharjah Biennial 13: Tamawuj. Reem Mohammed / The National

Wael Shawky, Dictums, a Sharjah Biennial 11 performance. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

The vision of curator and art critic Okwui Enwezor, now deceased, formed the theme for Sharjah Biennial 15. Getty Images

Damian Ortega, Talking Wall at Sharjah Biennial 12. Photo: Alfredo Rubio

Imran Qureshi, Blessings Upon The Land of My Love, at Sharjah Biennial 10. Photo: Christine Donley Allababedi

A painting by Ziad Dalloul during the 2011 Sharjah Biennial Jaime Puebla / The National

Sharjah Art Foundation's first #SB13Photowalk. Reem Mohammed / The National

The Sharjah Biennial has come a long way since it was launched in 1993.

It is the UAE’s longest-running art event and, over the past 30 years has grown into a sprawling, city-wide phenomenon bringing some of the most cutting-edge contemporary artists to Sharjah.

The event this year will feature artworks from more than 150 artists and collectives, representing more than 70 countries.

While the first Sharjah Biennial underlined the beginning of the emirate’s long-running drive to becoming a regional arts hub, it was in 2003, when Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi took over as curator and artistic director, that the programming expanded to look at more contemporary and international artists. It also began featuring themes that seemed to have a finger on the pulse of topical issues.

For instance, its seventh edition, in 2005, revolved around issues of belonging and identity. It was curated by Palestinian-Armenian artist Jack Persekian, Canadian-American academic and artist Ken Lum, and Swiss-Iranian-American art expert Tirdad Zolghadr. In 2007 was held under the theme Still Life and explored ecology and the politics of change. The event was curated by contemporary Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem, English curator Jonathan Watkins, and art historian Eva Scharrer. It significantly expanded that year, being held at Sharjah Art Museum, Expo Centre Sharjah, Heritage Area and the American University of Sharjah, as well as several outdoor locations in the emirate.

The biennial grew exponentially after the establishment of the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2009 as the institution made the event one of its core initiatives. Its exhibition programme for the ninth year was titled Provisions for the Future and was curated by art critic Isabel Carlos. Its performance and film programme, Past of the Coming Days, meanwhile, was curated by Tarek Abou El Fetouh, who last year was appointed as SAF’s director of performance and senior curator for the visual arts.

In 2011, the biennial explored the uprisings taking place in the Middle East at the time. Held under the theme, Plot for a Biennial, it was curated by British art historian Suzanne Cotter and Canadian-Lebanese art academic Rasha Salti, alongside Lebanese-Armenian artist Haig Aivazian.

Yuko Hasegawa, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, took over the curatorial helm in 2013. The event was held under the title Re:emerge: Towards a New Cultural Cartography. It featured more than 100 participants from 41 countries showing new commissions, music, films, performances and talks as well as the annual March Meeting. The event re-examined the westerncentrism of knowledge in modern times and explored the relationship between the Arab world, Asia, the Far East, North Africa and Latin America.

The 12th biennial in 2015 was curated by the US curator of contemporary art at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Eungie Joo. The event was held under the title The past, the present, the possible, and it grew to include the city of Kalba on the Gulf of Oman as an exhibition site.

Tamawuj was the theme of the biennal's 13th run. The theme was derived from the Arabic noun, which is defined as a rising and falling in waves. The event was curated by Lebanese curator Christine Tohme, who is also the founder of Ashkal Alwan — the Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts. It took place over five segments, running from October 2016 to January 2018. The event encompassed exhibitions in Sharjah, alongside projects in Beirut, Dakar, Ramallah and Istanbul. It also had an online publishing platform.

The 14th event, themed Leaving the Echo Chamber, explored the possibilities and purpose of producing art in the face of news that is derived from a monopoly of sources. It included more than 80 established and emerging artists as well as 60 new commissions. It was co-curated by Vietnamese art writer Zoe Butt, Egyptian art historian Omar Kholeif and Guadeloupe-born art critic Claire Tancons.