Sharjah Art Foundation announces details of Sharjah Biennial 17

Our present is troubled by what remains of unlived pasts, of the defeated yet undead projects of a modernity premised on universal emancipation. Rather than passive and dormant, these remainders continue to animate the present with their restive rhythms, shaping the politics of time and space. Histories resurface and endure, not as pure recurrence but as residues and morphed processes actively informing the now.

Grounded in this common theme, Sharjah Biennial 17: What remains, sits restive brings together two different approaches, each articulated by one of the two curators: Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento.

Curatorial framework

Angela Harutyunyan traces the various afterlives of socialist modernity, as observed from the peripheries of modernisation and anti-colonial struggles. Can art confront the hard-shell of late capitalist alienation by activating what remains of these emancipatory projects? Her presentation brings together 55 participants who engage with questions of representation and historical contradiction.

Paula Nascimento explores how the present is shaped by the slow violences of cultural silencing and oppression. Using infrastructure as a method, her work examines how space, place and memory intersect in both tangible and intangible ways, proposing new vocabularies for understanding contemporary complexity. Her presentation includes 54 participants working across these themes.

List of participants

Angela Harutyunyan (55 participants)

The section curated by Angela Harutyunyan includes: Alban Muja, Alexandra Sukhareva, Amanda Beech, Anri Sala, Arash Azadi, Arman Grigoryan, Armen Ter-Mkrtchyan, Armenak Grigoryan, Cristiana de Marchi, Cynthia Zaven, Daniele Genadry, David Schutter, Hamlet Hovsepyan, Hande Sever, Hassan Khan, Hiwa K, Igor Savchenko, Iman Issa, Jasmina Cibic, Jessica Ekomane, Jiří Žák, Josef Bolf, Josephine Pryde, Kapwani Kiwanga, Karen Ohanyan, Karine Matsakyan, Karlo Kacharava, Kasper Kovitz, Khaled Tanji, Kristina Benjocki, Lala Rukh, Lena Kocutar, Lousineh Navasartian, Marcos Grigoryan, Michael Martirosyan, Natasha Gasparian, Neda Saeedi, Octavian Esanu, Romana Schmalisch and Robert Schlicht, Sebastián Díaz Morales, Shady Elnoshokaty, Sherif El Azma, Stijn Verhoeff, Suat Öğüt, Tekla Aslanishvili and Solveig Qu Suess, Teni Vardanyan, Thea Djordjadze, Thea Gvetadze, Tsolak Topchyan, Vehanush Topchyan, Yaşam Şaşmazer, Yass, and Zbyněk Balandrán.

Paula Nascimento (54 participants)

The section curated by Paula Nascimento includes: Agnes Essonti Luque, Ana Silva, Ângela Ferreira, António Ole, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Carlos Noronha Feio, César Schofield Cardoso, Christian Salablanca Díaz, Cipriano, Dana Whabira, Edson Chagas, Euridice Zaituna Kala, Francisco Vidal, Gabriel Chaile, Gabrielle Goliath, Georges Senga, Gosette Lubondo, Grada Kilomba, Helena Uambembe, Hong-Kai Wang, Ibrahim Mahama, Ilídio Candja Candja, Januario Jano, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Josèfa Ntjam, Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, Kapela Paulo, Kiluanji Kia Henda and Sumayya Vally with Flávio Cardoso, Lilianne Kiame, Raul Jorge Gourgel and Yazan Khalili, Limbo Museum founded by Dominique Petit-Frère, Lungiswa Gqunta, Mpho Matsipa, Myles Igwe, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Ntshepe Tsekere Bopape, Nú Barreto, Oscar Murillo, Pamela Cevallos, Rebeca Carapiá, Reinata Sadimba, René Tavares, Rui Magalhães, Sandra Poulson, Senzeni Marasela, Sonia Gomes, Tuli Mekondjo, Victor Gama, Wendy Morris, Ziad Naitaddi, and Zina Saro-Wiwa.