A total of 377 art pieces and 238 activities will be organised during this year's Sharjah Islamic Art Festival (SIAF), which will kick off on Wednesday at the Sharjah Art Museum.
The event is being organised by the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. The festival will continue until April 19.
Addressing a Press conference, Mohamed Al Qaseer, director of cultural affairs at the department, said that this year's edition is being organised under the theme "Horizon," which will serve as a concept to unite artists and art enthusiasts together.
The festival will contain 238 activities, including exhibitions, lectures and workshops. More than 25 government organisations assisted in the coordination of the festival projects. There will be 55 exhibitions at the Sharjah Art Museum, Al Majaz Waterfront, Maraya Art Centre and other locations in the emirate. These exhibitions will be presenting works of artists from the UAE, neighbouring Arab countries, and other countries from around the world. The festival will also arrange for a dialogue between the artists and the audience, during which the artists will discuss the experiences that encouraged them to create contemporary visual art.
Al Qaseer pointed out that the festival will feature 63 artists from 20 nations. They are expected to present 377 works of art, letters, murals and paintings in the original line and decoration, while 144 art workshops will be organised. There will be a training course in Arabic calligraphy.
"In the theoretical aspect, 26 lectures on Islamic arts, as well as the open dialogue between artists and the public, will be presented in the context of personal exhibitions, in addition to the Gulf Calligraphy Forum, which will be held for the first time. We are delighted to host 161 guest speakers, lecturers and calligraphers," he added.
Al Qaseer said that personal exhibitions as part of the festival includes the Roadmap to the Hidden Treasure exhibition by Egyptian-British artist Dr Ahmed Mustafa, which will feature 12 artworks. The Gulf Calligraphy Forum will be held in cooperation with the Emirates Association of Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Decoration.
It will also witness the participation of 21 young women from the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman.
