The festival is inspired by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

The 19th edition of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival (SIAF) will commence on December 14 and run until January 24.

The SIAF - organised by the Cultural Affairs Department at the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information with the theme 'Bunyan' - will unite artists with its concept.

Mohammed Al Qaseer, general coordinator of SIAF, explained that "bunyan" is the Arabic word for "standing structure," "forming construction," or "man-built creation," which sets it apart from the word "architecture."

"The concept of architecture is about meeting certain social functions and human necessity, whereas the art of architecture is an introduction of creativity, composition, and motifs to create an unambiguous identity, whether religious or social. In this edition, we deconstruct the concept of 'bunyan' to rebuild a discourse through visuals in the realm of contemporary Islamic arts," Al Qaseer said.

The choice of 'bunyan' as the theme for the 19th edition to focus on the creativity underlying the creation process of any construction, and also highlight the importance of architecture in visual arts. The artistic experiences presented in the festival are the output of a serious visual research conducted by creative artists and architects from different parts of the world, who seemed to be influenced by the various forms of Islamic arts.

The festival is inspired by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. Shaikh Sultan's vision in maintaining and preserving Islamic arts led to the introduction of the Islamic Arts Festival.

The festival features a variety of special events that include art exhibitions, lectures and professional workshops by prominent international artists. The events will take place in various venues, most notably the Sharjah Art Museum.

Festival at a glance

> 364 exhibitions, lectures, and workshops

> 64 artists, 232 artworks

> 42 exhibitions (34 at Sharjah Art Museum, with works from 21 countries)

> 8 parallel exhibitions (3 at Al Majaz Amphitheatre, Al Noor Island, and the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Sharjah)

> 2 exhibitions at Al Majaz Waterfront

> 3 exhibitions at Calligraphy Square

> Artist-audience dialogue sessions