Sharjah Award for Artistic Criticism Research

About the award

The Sharjah Award for Artistic Research places artistic and visual research at the forefront, emphasizing the contributions of writers, critics, and academics as a parallel creative process to the artistic one. It seeks to attract insightful efforts and ideas, aiming to stimulate specialized critical research in the fields of visual and fine arts. The award highlights the role of creators, follows artistic trends, documents them, and strives to establish a common language between critics and readers. Participants are encouraged to innovate their tools to achieve the desired goal of presenting any topic.

The Sixteenth Edition
Inspiration from Arab Heritage in Contemporary Arab Fine Art
February 2025 – December 2025

In alignment with the instructions of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council, ruler of Sharjah, and in line with his vision regarding the significance of critical research in the field of visual arts, enhancing its role as a creative aspect in developing awareness of the arts, the Cultural Affairs Department of the Department of Culture in the Government of Sharjah announces the launch of the fourteenth edition of the Sharjah Award for Artistic Research under the theme: “The Role of Translation in Modern Art Criticism.” Writers, critics, and individuals passionate about this subject are encouraged to participate in accordance with the attached conditions.

Objectives of the Award:

Engage with researchers and critics of Arab visual arts.
Introduce the works of Arab artistic critics and writers.
Expand the scope of interest in Arab artistic experiences.
Document the Arab artistic movement through the work of its critics.
Encourage young critical talents and raise awareness of them.
Monitor the movement of artistic criticism in Arab professionals.
Build a connection between society and its arts through critical language.

Judging Process:

Ensure that the submitted research meets the conditions outlined in this announcement, then forward eligible research to the judging committee.
The judging committee consists of three specialized judges.
The judging committee justifies its selection of winning texts using specific forms.
The committee's decision is final.

The General Secretariat of the Sharjah Award for Artistic Research:

H.E. Abdulla Mohammed Al Owais - Chairman of the Department of Culture in Sharjah.
Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Qaseer - Secretary-General of the Award, Director of the Cultural Affairs Department.
Farah Qassim Mohammed - Award Coordinator.
Mohammed Al Nouri - Member of the Award Secretariat.
Dr. Omar Abdulaziz - Member of the Award Secretariat.
Mohammed Abulouz - Member of the Award Secretariat.

Jury Committee of the fourteenth Etision:

Dr. Cherbal Dager – Lebanon
Dr. Salam Jabbar - Iraq
Dr. Abdel Nabi Astif – Syria

Results of the Fifteenth Edition

First Prize: Dr. Abdallah Al-Sheikh from the Kingdom of Morocco, for his research “The Arab World in Artistic Orientalism: Civilizational and Aesthetic Dimensions.”
Second Prize: Dr. Atef Saad from the Arab Republic of Egypt, for his research “The Aesthetic and Artistic Vision of Orientalist Artists Depicting Equestrian Scenes in Egypt during the 13th AH / 19th Century.”

Terms and conditions of participation

The research must be limited to the competition’s theme: “Inspiration from Arab Heritage in Contemporary Arab Fine Art.”

The research must be prepared for publication and must not have been previously published or printed in a book.

The research must not have previously won a similar award.

Participation with more than one research paper is not permitted.

Illustrative images must be attached to the research, if needed.

Margins and references must be clearly indicated and included with the research.

The research must not be less than fifty (A4) pages.

Each page must contain approximately 250 words.

The research must be submitted in Word format.

Attachments must include the author’s academic and professional CV, along with a declaration confirming that the research has not been previously published or awarded in a similar competition.

Winners of the previous edition may not participate in the following two consecutive editions.

The research must be accompanied, if necessary, by the required images in JPG format, with high resolution suitable for printing, along with captions or explanations of the images.

The Department is not obligated to return the texts submitted to the competition.

The deadline for submitting entries is Monday, 30 September 2025.

The results will be announced in December 2025, and the awards will be presented during a symposium held on the same theme.

The winners will be invited and hosted to attend the awards ceremony and to participate in the symposium.

The Department of Culture will undertake the publication of the winning research papers individually and shall retain the rights to the first edition.

Registeration form

Necessary attachments

A copy of the passport or ID valid for at least six months.
CV and academic CV.
Two personal photos.
Declaration of non-publication or winning another award.
Confirmation that the winning material will be published according to the Department of Culture's standards.

To contact

Submissions should be sent to the Secretariat of the Sharjah Award for Artistic Research:

P.O. Box 5119, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Phone:

0097165123357 / 0097165123352

Email:

farah@sdc.gov.ae

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Award Details

About the award

Objectives of the Award:

Judging Process:

The General Secretariat of the Sharjah Award for Artistic Research:

Jury Committee of the fourteenth Etision:

Terms and conditions of participation

Necessary attachments

To contact

Awards

Sharjah Award for Artistic Research (First Place) with a value of $8,000.

Sharjah Award for Artistic Research (Second Place) with a value of $7,000.

Sharjah Award for Artistic Research (Third Place) with a value of $6,000.

Winners