Latest news with #AprilActs
Time Out Abu Dhabi
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out Abu Dhabi
Missed April Acts in Sharjah? Here's how the exhibition unfolded
Sharjah Art Foundation's very first edition of April Acts, a jam-packed three-day programme, came to a meaningful end on Sunday April 20. Workshops, conversations and performances at April Acts: to carry new formations nudged audiences to rethink how they engaged with art, ideas and each other. Shaped as a continuation of Sharjah Biennial 16, which remains on view until Sunday June 15, the exhibition took over Africa Hall in Sharjah. Michael Parekōwhai, He Kōrero Pūrākau mo te Awanui o Te Motu: Story of a New Zealand river, 2011. Collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, purchased 2011 with the assistance of the Friends of Te Papa. Installation view: Sharjah Biennial 16, Al Mureijah Art Spaces, Sharjah, 2025. Photo: Motaz Mawid. To carry new formations picked up from the Biennial's overarching concept to carry, diving deeper into how we collectively remember, resist, reimagine and reshape knowledge across borders and generations. It is less about learning in a traditional sense and more about shared reflection – what needs to be reimagined if we're to support each other better. See for yourself Screening of Roy Samaha, LEGACY// Premonition, 2024. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy of the artist. Sharjah Biennial 16, Mirage City Cinema, Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah, 2025 .Photo: Shanavas Jamaluddin Visitors got to try riso-print workshops, tune into listening sessions, join guided walks and watch films that go beyond storytelling. Sound played a big part in this edition, both as medium and message, with performances closing out each day. One of the evenings featured the now-iconic red Steinway grand piano carved by Māori artist Michael Parekowhai. Dhrupad vocalist Pelva Naik (right) and pakhawaj player Sukhad Munde accompanying dancer Tishani Doshi for her work Nyāsa, 2024. Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation. Performance view: Sharjah Biennial 16, Sharjah Performing Arts Academy, Sharjah, 2025. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Shafeek Nalakath Kareem Meanwhile, The Farm Project brought sound installations to life with contributions from Başak Günak, Berke Can Özcan, Sandy Chamoun and Hauptmeier I Recker, while poet and theatre-maker Koleka Putuma returned with WATER (reprise) – a performance tracing ancestral memory through bodies of water. There was also a space carved out for young curators from Southeast Asia and the UAE, thanks to an exchange programme led by Alia Swastika and Jo Lene Ong.
Al Etihad
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Sharjah Art Foundation announced further details about the inaugural edition of April Acts
5 Apr 2025 17:52 SHARJAH (WAM)Sharjah Art Foundation announced further details about the inaugural edition of April Acts, a dynamic weekend initiative expanding on the curatorial framework of Sharjah Biennial 16 (SB16). Titled 'To carry new formations', the programme endeavours to build constellations of gathering and dialogue across multiple positions, societal experiences and ongoing Acts 2025 takes place as a key extension of Sharjah Biennial 16, which features more than 650 works by nearly 200 participants, including more than 200 new SB16 as both a platform and an instrument, April Acts 2025 engages with the works at the Biennial to highlight independent and collective dialogues around systemic transition, societal shifts, ruptured and recovered histories, forms of collective organising, leadership (including communal leadership) and old knowledge reimagined in new forms. Encouraging practices of new and experimental methodologies, self-organisation and deep reflection and listening, the programme explores collaborative cultural production, acoustic heritage, creative infrastructures under threat, and the spatial and psychic boundaries that limit the movement of people and ideas. Through panel discussions, artist talks, participatory workshops, film screenings and live music performances, April Acts 2025 aims to create a polyphonous space that invites multiple perspectives to co-exist and thrive.
What's On
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
Explore thought provoking artworks at Sharjah Biennial 16
Sponsored: Don't miss this fascinating journey of art across Sharjah… Explore a stunning showcase of art and culture that will feature an impressive array of over 650 works by almost 190 artists from around the world, over 200 new commissions. From February 6 until June 15, and planned across 17 venues in the emirate, this year's edition of the Sharjah Biennial will bring art to life at a series of new and innovative locations, transforming the city and its surrounding towns into an immersive cultural experience for both residents and visitors. The biennial is curated by Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala, and Zeynep Öz, under the title 'to carry'. The exhibition encourages you to think about how you move through life and shape the world around you, while taking a deeper look into how cultural traditions and personal stories are passed along, even when people transcend borders. The display also focuses on what people carry with them as they go through various life experiences and will invite viewers to explore how art connects to shared experiences like migration, displacement, and resilience. The Sharjah Biennial's works will be presented to the public in this exciting cultural showcase, alongside a dynamic programme of performances, music, and film productions across historical and contemporary venues in Sharjah City, Al Dhaid, Kalba, Al Madam, and Al Hamriyah, to name just a few. Iconic sites in the emirates such as Al Mureijah, Arts Square, and The Flying Saucer will host major installations, while emerging space such as Al Madam's buried village and Kalba Ice Factory will serve as a platform for unexpected venues, deepening the Biennial's connection to the region's history and cultural identity. The Biennial is all set to welcome visitors from February 6 to June 15. Throughout the Biennial, there will also be a range of exciting programmes including evening talks at March Meeting in Al Qasimiyah School from March 7 to 9 (10pm to 1am), and April Acts, a new weekend programme activating different aspects of the Biennial from April 18 to 20. Sharjah Biennial, Saturday to Thursday, 9am to 9pm, Fridays 4pm to 9pm, various locations, Sharjah, UAE.
