Aranya Art Center in Guangzhou opens SAF collection exhibition

February 27, 2026 / 4:47 PM

Sharjah24: The Aranya Art Center in Guangzhou has announced the opening of the exhibition “In Presence and Absence: Works from the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) Collection,” featuring more than 70 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, photography, video, and textile works by 28 artists. The exhibition runs from 22 March to 30 August 2026.

The exhibition examines how artists from West Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the diaspora interpret land, highlighting distinctive trajectories of artistic practice and experimentation from the 1950s to the present. Modernist works engage in dialogue with contemporary practices, revealing artistic continuities and intersections across generations and situating contemporary art within a broader historical context. The initiative is among the first institutional exhibitions in China dedicated to exploring artistic practices from these interconnected regions.

The exhibition title draws inspiration from a poetry collection by the Egyptian artist and writer Ahmed Morsi, whose multidisciplinary practice addresses themes of displacement and permanence. The curatorial framework examines land not merely as geography but as a shaping presence in visual language and identity.

The exhibition is curated by Her Highness Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, and Damian Zhang, Director of Aranya Art Center, with support from the curatorial and research teams of both institutions.

Participating artists include Etel Adnan, Latif Al Ani, Tarek Al Ghoussein, Aref El Rayess, Rasheed Araeen, Baya, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Salah El Mur, Simone Fattal, Madani Abdulrahman Jahori, Abbas Habiballah, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Samia Halaby, Mona Hatoum, Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, Iman Issa, Hayv Kahraman, Marwan Kassab Bachi (Marwan), Helen Khal, Anwar Khalifi, Farid Lachehab, Jumana Manna, Ahmed Morsi, Khalil Rabah, Zineb Sedira, Hassan Sharif, Mohammed Kazem, and Akram Zaatari.

About Sharjah Art Foundation

The Sharjah Art Foundation presents contemporary art and cultural programmes that activate the artistic landscape in Sharjah, the UAE, and the wider region. Its initiatives include the Sharjah Biennial, March Meeting, artist residencies, educational programmes, research projects, and an expanding art collection.

About Aranya Art Center

Aranya Art Center is an independent contemporary art institution established in 2019, dedicated to connecting art with local communities through exhibitions, research, and public programmes. Its Guangzhou branch, established in 2025, extends the institution’s presence in southern China and aims to serve as a cultural platform linking the Lingnan region with global contemporary art discourse.