The second season of Biennial Bytes, the official podcast of Sharjah Biennial, is now available to stream. Produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, Biennial Bytes 2 offers audiences a behind-the-scenes take on Sharjah Biennial 16 (SB16): to carry, which opened on 6 February 2025.
Biennial Bytes 2 kicks off with a conversation between the five curators of SB16—Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala and Zeynep Öz. Moderated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, the episode explores the synergies between curators’ individual projects, the diverse formats in which audiences can experience the art at SB16, and how a Biennial can be a space of encounter and collective processing.
Subsequent episodes spotlight specific works and projects presented at SB16 through conversations between individual curators and various participating artists, including Bint Mbareh, an artist and sound researcher working around songs of resistance in relation to land and water sovereignty in Palestine, and Joe Namy who sheds light on his collaborative approach to creating sound installations and performances. Yhonnie Scarce speaks about the historical context of nuclear testing on Aboriginal lands in Australia, and Tabu Osusa, founder of Singing Wells, dives into the group’s decolonial mission to platform and preserve East African music, while Citra Sasmita talks about her collaboration with Kamasan maestra Mangku Muriati.
Tune in to the podcast to listen to personal anecdotes and the stories behind their artworks. Other SB16 artists featured in the podcast are: Stephanie Comilang, Hellen Ascoli, Ana Iti, Naeem Mohaiemen, Pratchaya Phinthong, Adelita Husni-Bey, Mahmoud Khaled and Kapulani Landgraf.
Convening under the title to carry, a multivocal and open-ended proposition, SB16 presents over 650 works by nearly 200 participants, including more than 200 new commissions. Exploring the ever-expanding questions of what to carry and how to carry it, SB16 is an invitation to encounter the different formations and positions of the five curators, as well as the resonances they have gathered. The Biennial runs until 15 June 2025 across several venues in Sharjah City, Al Hamriyah, Al Dhaid, Kalba and other locations in the Emirate of Sharjah.
New episodes are released every Monday on Apple, Spotify, Anghami, Google and other podcast platforms.
Listeners can also visit sharjahart.org to catch episodes and learn more about the Biennial.
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’score initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.
Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.
Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organisations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. Hoor Al Qasimi serves as President and Director. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Sharjah is the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. In 1998, it was named UNESCO's 'Arab Capital of Culture' and has been designated the UNESCO ‘World Book Capital’ for the year 2019.
Alyazeyah Al Marri
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113