The Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) announced the programme for its annual March Meeting (MM16), a three-day symposium taking place 11–13 March and accompanied by exhibition openings, artists’ performances and other events throughout the week. Conceived as a discursive platform, it sets the grounds for the programme of Sharjah Biennial 13, curated by Christine Tohmé and scheduled for March 2017.
This year’s ‘MM16: Education, Engagement and Participation’ will consider – in a series of keynotes, case studies and panel discussions – how institutions, initiatives, curators and artists have increasingly prioritised their relationships with audiences and communities. The large panel of guest speakers include, among others, Zoe Butt, director and curator of Vietnamese nonprofit San Art, Susanna Chung, Head of Learning and Participation at Hong Kong’s Asia Art Archive; Reem Fadda, curator of the recently opened Marrakech Biennale 6; Riyas Komu, founding director of Kochi Biennale Foundation; Rick Lowe, artist and founding director Project Row Houses (USA); Tina Sherwell, director of International Academy of Art (Palestine) and Christine Tohmé, founding director of Beirut-based Ashkal Alwan and curator of this year’s Sharjah Biennial 13.
Also on the programme is a collaborative performance in the Sharjah desert by Uriel Barthélémi and Taro Shinoda (March 11), exhibition openings at the SAF including Simone Fattal (12 March – 12 June), Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige (12 March – 8 May), Farideh Lashai (12 March – 14 May) and The Time is out of Joint (12 March – 12 May), a show curated by Tarek Abou El Fetouh, which involves a series of performances, film screenings, artist talks, presentations and discussions.
26 February 2016.