Perhaps Here premieres new commissions as part of Perform Sharjah

As part of Perform Sharjah’s fifth edition, Sharjah Art Foundation presents Perhaps Here, a three-day programme that will premiere nine newly commissioned site-specific performances. Returning for its second season, Perhaps Here takes place on 6, 7 and 8 November 2026, 8:30 pm at Bait Al Serkal, Arts Square, Sharjah.

Spanning performance, movement, music, poetry and immersive installation, the nine presentations consider how bodies, memories and environments shape our experience of the world. They reflect on confinement and freedom, grief and remembrance, mortality and belonging, inviting audiences to encounter familiar realities through unexpected perspectives.

Half Life by Mohammad Masharqa examines how the lingering remnants of incarceration seep into family life and society post release. Is This It? by Jumairy plays with humour and absurdity as it draws from lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis to discuss mortality, ambition, loneliness and doubt. 2 9 18 4 is Selma and Sofiane Ouissi’s sequel to Bird (2023)—a movement piece responding to a pigeon’s occupation of Sofiane’s workspace. The score of the new 20-minute piece is shaped by audience improvisation and the pigeon’s chance movements.

In No One Is Lonely Here by chamæleon, music, poetry, light and projection activate a narrative about a daughter grieving her mother who died while giving birth to her. Kinda El Atrach’s The World Beyond the Walls considers the pursuit of transcending boundaries by staging a site-specific chamber of voices and music. Then Imagine You Are a Fish by Hatem Miladi and Khaoula El Hadef invites the audience to navigate an immersive, evolving installation that gradually transforms them into active participants instead of passive observers. 

The programme also features Dancing the Ruins by Ébana Garín Coronel and Luis Guenel Soto, a reflection on displacement, loss and the possibility of rebuilding worlds from the remnants of the past. Remembrance: Stitching Songs by Hend Elbalouty approaches female grief as a force of renewal through embodied lamentation, ancestral memory and connections between human and non-human life. In Held at the Throat, Safa Baluchi and Siddiq Baloch draw on Baloch musical practices of Zahirok and Gwati to trace how songs carry personal histories and cultural memories. 

The fifth edition of Perform Sharjah is made possible with the generous support of Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority, Air Arabia and Alef Group.

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's core 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 Mohammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. It was named UNESCO's Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019.

Joseph De la Cerna
joseph@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113