The 10th edition of Vantage Point Sharjah (VPS), an annual photography exhibition that manifests the spirit of experimentation in lens-based image making today, opens this Friday at Sharjah Art Foundation.

The open call for VPS 10 invited works that celebrate photography's ability to perceive social realities and the diversity of contemporary lives from multiple perspectives and present these realities through different forms of visual storytelling. Works by 66 artists from 34 countries were selected for the exhibition from more than 450 applications.

Introduced in 2013 to cultivate public engagement with photography as an artistic medium, VPS has evolved into a dynamic platform that embraces multiple approaches to photography, from photojournalism and photo essays to experimental work in both analogue and digital forms.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Sharjah Art Foundation presents the Vantage Point Photography Award to five of the selected photographers to encourage their practice. The awardees will be announced on the opening day of VPS 10. One winner will receive a cash prize of USD 5,000, and four runners-up will each receive USD 1,500. This year’s international jury consists of acclaimed photographers Solmaz Daryani, Lamya Gargash and Sohrab Hura.

The exhibition runs from 16 September to 11 December 2022 at Al Hamriyah Studios in Al Hamriyah, Sharjah.

VPS 10 Participating Artists:

Zeina Abedrabo Sari Al Dahoul Mehraneh Atashi Ali Abbas Azhar Mythri Babu Ali Bahmani Twinkle Banerjee Hady Barry Abdelhamid Belahmidi Toufic Beyhum Diyae Bourhim Philippe Caland Ian Cheibub Aya Chriki Elham Dawsari Arum Tresnaningtyas Dayuputri Maxence Dedry Santanu Dey Farheen Fatima Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq Attila Fekete Maryam Firuzi Ramzi Flayhan Cristina Fontsare Julien Gardair Karim Goury Barry Harley Roya Heydari Ziaul Huque Sitara Ibrahimbayli Ali Al Shehabi Jaafar Prapat Jiwarangsan Zobayer Hossain Joati Ayman Kaake Munir Kabani Mohosin Kabir Maazin Hisham Kamal Yasmin Kazeem Mohamad Khayata Jennifer Kinsey Kirti Kumari Duy-Phuong Le Nguyen Dmitry Lookianov Elli Lorz Benjamin Malik Roman Mahieddine Rima Maroun Maria Mavropoulou Mónica de Miranda Zinnia Naqvi Morteza Niknahad Neec Nonso Kayode Oluwa Ibrahim Quraishi Btihal Remli Fadwa Rouhana Lydia Saidi Pallov Saikia Soody Sharifi Valentin Sidorenko Daro Sulakauri Safia Tadbirt Ali Tahayori Sarathi Thamodaran Bongani Tshabalala Alexis Vasilikos Zulkhairi Zulkiflee

Visiting the exhibition

16 September–11 December 2022, Al Hamriyah Studios, Al Hamriyah, Sharjah 9:00 am–9:00 pm, Saturday to Thursday | 4:00 pm–9:00 pm, Friday Free admission. Advance registration required at sharjahart.org

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. Under the leadership of founder Hoor Al Qasimi, a curator and artist, 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. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

About Sharjah

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 was designated the UNESCO ‘World Book Capital’ for the year 2019.

Media Contact

Alyazeyah AlMarri

Press & Communications Manager

Sharjah Art Foundation

Tel: +971-6-544-4113, ext. 26

E: alyazeyah@sharjahart.org