Sharjah Art Foundation has co-produced two world premieres at Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2026 in Brussels. Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Maria Hassabi unveil works at the intersection of performance, cinema and choreography.      

From 8 to 11 May 2026, Weerasethakul presents A Flower of Forgetfulness at Brigittines Chapel, and from 17 to 19 May, Hassabi’s Us will be on view at Bozar’s newly renovated Centre for Fine Arts.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, A Flower of Forgetfulness         

Inside Brigittines Chapel, a large white fabric floats in the air as if guided by an eternal wind. Projected images emerge and vanish through folds and shadows, drifting like a collective cloud of half-remembered dreams over the audience.

Weerasethakul’s A Flower of Forgetfulness reflects on recent genocides and moments of erasure. A metal tower allows visitors to observe the space from multiple vantage points, simultaneously evoking a rocket launch and a platform for contemplating sunsets. This visual landscape intersects with two further narrative threads: in one, visitors climb Sigiriya, an ancient rock formation in Sri Lanka, their footsteps echoing on metal stairs; in the other, two distant figures attempt to communicate across continents, hinting at the fragility of memory.

Drawing on images from their diaries, Weerasethakul and his artistic collaborators have created a visual journey poised between cinema and performance—an immersive reflection on forgetting, memory, distance and continuity.          

Maria Hassabi, Us

Following her 2024 presentation of On Stage at Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Hassabi returns to this year’s festival with Us at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts. For this production, the artist places a long bench along the lip of the proscenium, redefining the stage as a narrow, linear space. Along this line, five performers move through a series of meticulously composed tableaux, their bodies suspended in continuous tension between rest, anticipation and observation.

The bench functions simultaneously as support, frame and site of display, establishing a parallel field of attention between performers and audience. Alone and together, the performers negotiate presence moment by moment.

Through subtle shifts and accumulations, Hassabi draws the audience into a heightened and radical form of spectatorship, one in which each gesture becomes part of an evolving visual language, inviting viewers to assemble meaning through gaze, duration and attention.

Together, A Flower of Forgetfulness and Us bring into focus two artistic voices working at the forefront of contemporary art and performance. While Weerasethakul creates a fluid, dreamlike meditation on memory and erasure, Hassabi constructs a precise and sustained inquiry into presence and perception. 

Through its co-production of these two major premieres, Sharjah Art Foundation continues to support cross-disciplinary practices and foster international artistic exchange, reinforcing its commitment to enabling new work by leading contemporary artists on a global stage.

About Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Currently based in Chiang Mai, visual artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. Bangkok, 1970) began making films and video shorts in 1994. Well known for his tranquil and lyrical works, he has received widespread international recognition and numerous awards, including the 2021 Cannes Jury Prize for Memoria and the 2010 Cannes Palme d’Or for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

About Maria Hassabi

Maria Hassabi is a choreographer, performer and visual artist whose practice explores the relationship between the live body, still image and sculptural form. Her work has been presented internationally at institutions, festivals and biennials such as the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, K20, Stedelijk Museum, Walker Art Center, Performa and Venice Biennale. Among her numerous awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship (2011), Herb Alpert Award (2015) and New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award (2016).

About Sharjah Art Foundation

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.

About Kunstenfestivaldesarts

Kunstenfestivaldesarts is an international performing arts festival dedicated to contemporary theatre, dance, performance and visual arts. Every year, it takes place in Brussels during three weeks in May.

Media contact

Alyazeyah Al Marri 
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org  
+971 (0)6 5444113