The annual Emirates Festival of Literature, now in its 15th edition, has received praise from a local newspaper, which noted that “it is worth taking stock of how the UAE’s arts scene has rebounded from the tough times of the Covid-19 pandemic.” In an editorial on Monday, The National said, “Although many cultural festivals switched back to holding in-person events in 2022, this year is witnessing a full-throttle return of the exhibitions, screenings, seminars and topical discussions that have cemented the Emirates’ reputation as the focal point for the region’s artists and creatives.”
The Sharjah Biennial, which launches tomorrow, is commemorating its 30th anniversary this year. Events will be held at 19 venues in five cities and towns across the emirate, attracting more than 150 people from more than 70 nations. “Mirroring the UAE’s own story of development, the biennial – the country’s longest-running arts event – has grown over the past three decades into a sprawling phenomenon that attracts cutting-edge contemporary artists to the emirate,” the paper added.
The programme, which has Thinking Historically in the Present as its theme this year, was inspired by the late Nigerian curator, art critic, and writer Okwui Enwezor, whose writings had a profound influence on Sharjah Art Foundation director Her Highness Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, who is also the biennial curator.
Her Highness Sheikha Hoor has described Enwezor’s ideas as the “conceptual framework for the biennial, which we’ve sought to honor and elaborate on while also reflecting on the foundation’s own past, present and future as the biennial marks its 30-year anniversary”. Upcoming local and rising artists, photographers, and filmmakers will be featured at the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, a non-profit community event, till the end of February. The premier international art fair Art Dubai will take place from March 1–5, while Abu Dhabi’s independent art platform Warehouse421 will launch its RE/COLLECT winter season this week with four major exhibitions and more than 20 workshops, talks, and special events.
The Ministry of Culture and Youth launched an AED 1 million theater initiative in October, and on Thursday, it was announced that the Sharjah Art Foundation had finished converting the abandoned Kalba Ice Factory, a 20,000 square meter industrial site on the emirate’s east coast, into art spaces with social amenities.
The Abu Dhabi-based daily concluded by quoting Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, as saying at a UNESCO conference last September, “The country had recognized the growing power of the cultural and creative industries within the wider economy, as well as its vulnerability to unpredictable events”.
“These creative industries contribute 3.5 per cent to the UAE’s gross domestic product – a figure that is projected to grow to 5 per cent by 2031. And although unpredictable events such as pandemics may always be with us, we can take heart from the resilience of the UAE’s artists, curators and patrons. We can expect to see many of the country’s leading cultural events enjoying a few more anniversaries.”
