Published on 29 June 2026
Sharjah Art Foundation announces the launch of SAF Radio, a new online radio initiative dedicated to broadcasting music, voices and stories from the region and beyond. Rooted in Sharjah and guided by a bilingual approach to programming, SAF Radio explores how musical traditions continue to evolve across generations, cultures and listening experiences.
Through music shows, artist playlists, cultural deep dives and live pop-up broadcasts, SAF Radio brings together contemporary sounds and emerging creative practices alongside select archival recordings from the Foundation’s collection. The platform brings together storytelling and sound to connect past and present listening experiences.
Built around the idea that listening can deepen understanding and connection, SAF Radio offers a more thoughtful alternative to fast-paced, algorithm-driven media by encouraging slower, more attentive forms of engagement. Its programming centres human curation and storytelling, creating space for discovery, reflection and exchange.
SAF Radio’s inaugural highlight is a seasonal music programme titled Aswaat. Conceived as a continuous listening experience, Aswaat is shaped by feeling and atmosphere rather than fixed genres. Each episode unfolds as a single uninterrupted mix shaped around a particular sensibility—whether the quiet of an early morning, the rhythm of a late-night drive or the stillness of a rainy afternoon.
Aswaat reflects the instinctive ways people experience music across cultures and moments. A tarab recording may sit alongside neo-soul, ambient music or contemporary regional sounds.
The first season of Aswaat includes 12 episodes, each an hour long and designed as immersive listening experiences.
As SAF Radio continues to grow, the platform will expand through new programmes, collaborations and live broadcasts that support artists, musicians and cultural practitioners.
Listen to Aswaat and explore SAF Radio at sharjahart.org.
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.
Alyazeyah Al Marri
alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
+971 (0)6 5444113
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