The three-day symposium will feature presentations by artists, art professionals and institutions on the production and dissemination of art in the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia) region and internationally.

By News Editor 22 Feb 2012

March Meeting 2012: Working With Artists an Audiences on Commissions and Residencies will take place March 17-19, 2012, in Sharjah’s scenic Heritage Area.The three-day forum will be held daily from 10 am–6 pm and will coincide with a programme of exhibitions and events. Schedule of events to include:

March 16: Opening reception and book launch for the exhibition, Ziad Antar: Portrait of a Territory, curated by Christine Macel, Chief Curator at Musée National D’Art Moderne Centre Pompidou Paris. On view through May 16.

March 17, 18 and 25: The Middle East premiere of a cinematic project commissioned by Artangel, 1395 Days without Red by Anri Sala and Šejla Kamerić, in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers.

March 18: Opening of Sharjah Art Foundation Residency project Farther Than the Eye Can See by Kuwait-born artist Basma Alsharif. On view through May 18.

March 19: At a private closing reception, hosted by Sharjah Art Foundation President Hoor Al Qasimi, Sharjah Art Foundation’s 2012 Production Programme grant awardees will be announced.

Also that night will be the public, Middle East premiere of Tarek Atoui’s Revisiting Tarab—performances inspired by the world’s largest collection of Classical Arab music as interpreted by musicians and sound artists including: Tarek Atoui, Anti-Pop Consortium, Uriel Barthelemi, Jonathan Butcher, Maurice Greene, Susie Ibarra, Kazuyuki Kishino, Lukas Ligeti, Robert Lowe, Raz Mesinai, Ikue Mori, Sara Parkins, Zeena Parkins, Roberto Juan Rodriguez, Mustafa Said and Elliott Sharp.

The 2012 March Meeting precedes the 11th edition of the Sharjah Biennial to take place mid-March 2013. The 2013 Sharjah Biennial will be curated by Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT), and seasoned director, curator and advisor for international biennials.

Participants in the 2012 March Meeting were selected by invitation and through an open call for submissions in December 2011, to which nearly 170 applications by individuals from 45 countries were submitted.

Select speakers of the three-day symposium include: Abed Al Ju’beh, Director, Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre (KSCC) (Palestine); H.E. Abdul Rahman Al Owais, UAE Minister of Culture; Noura Al-Sayeh, Architect & Curator (Bahrain); Max Andrews & Mariana Cánepa Luna, Co-Director(s), Latitudes (Spain); Palmina D’Ascoli, Manager of Department of Residencies, Institut Français(France); Shezad Dawood, Artist; Peter Eleey, Curator, MoMA/PS1 (USA); Amal Khalaf, Edgware Road Project: Assistant Curator of Serpentine Gallery (UK); Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT) (Japan); Louise Hui-Juan Hsu, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (Taiwan); Danda J, Director, Kuona Trust Centre for Visual Arts (Kenya); Lu Jie, Founder & Director, Long March Space (China); Eungie Joo, Curator, New Museum(USA); Riyas Komu, Director of Programmes, Kochi-Muziris Biennale (India); James Lingwood, Co-Director, Artangel (UK); Salwa Mikdadi, Head of Arts & Cultural Program, Emirates Foundation(UAE); Ayeh Naraghi, Cultural Programmes Specialist, UNESCO Doha Office (Qatar); Susan Pfeffer, Curator, KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin); Andrea Rose, Head of Visual Arts, British Council (UK); Beatrix Ruf, Director/Curator, Kunsthalle Zürich(Switzerland); Anri Sala, Artist; Ramin Salsali,Founder, Salsali Private Museum(UAE).

The March Meeting and related events are free and open to the public. Registration is recommended at [email protected]