Radial Histories, a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial.

This chapter explores the vibrant artistic landscape of Sharjah during the 1980s, a decade marked by experimentation, collaboration and the return of artists trained overseas. Through the voices of artists and writers, including Najat Makki, Mohammed Kazem, Mohamed Yousif, Abdulraheem Salim, Ali Al Abdan and Khalid Albudoor, the episode reveals how artist collectives, cultural clubs and informal ateliers shaped a cosmopolitan visual arts ecology shaped by both local and émigré participants. These independent initiatives paralleled and intersected with state-supported exchange with regional neighbours through Gulf Cooperation Council Youth exhibitions and distant nations such as the Soviet Union. Aisha Stoby places Sharjah’s effervescence in the context of Gulf-wide art historical developments that are relevant even today. 

Credits

Host: May Alqaydi

Guests: Abdulraheem Salim, Abdulraheem Sharif, Aisha Stoby, Ali Al Abdan, Fatma Lootah, Mohamed Yousif, Mohammed Kazem and Najat Makki

Music and Sound:

Haas, Jim, compiler. Music of Laila Murad from ‘Family party songs; vintage Egyptian film music (early 1980s): Ismahan, Laila Murad, Muharram Fouad, Ismail Yassin, al-Thalawy, Shadia’. Egypt, Mother of this World. Radio is a Foreign Country. 

Channer, Harold Hudson. ‘Conversation with Hon. Yasser Arafat’,1989. Manhattan Neighbourhood Network Collection. Internet Archive. 

Kamel, Moshira, compiler. ‘Tasgeelat [Recordings] Apr 10 2011’. Cairo Public Radio Programmes (from 1983). Internet Archive. 

Kamel, Moshira, compiler. ‘Tasgeelat [Recordings] Nov 07 2010’. Cairo Public Radio Programmes (from 1987). Internet Archive. 

Robinson, Dan, contributor. ‘Voice and King of Hope WORD/KING - Lebanon: Circa 1980s’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Greenall, Dan, contributor. ‘UAE Radio Dubai: Circa 1983’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Gavaras, Tom, contributor. ‘Radio Jamahiriya: May 12, 1982’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Watson, Paul, contributor. Broadcast from All India Radio. ‘Shortwave Broadcast Compilation – Asia & Pacific: Circa 1980s’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Watson, Paul, contributor. Broadcast from Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI). ‘Shortwave Broadcast Compilation – Western Europe: Circa 1980s’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Watson, Paul, contributor. Broadcasts from Radio Moscow World Service and Radio Station Peace & Progress. ‘Shortwave Broadcast Compilation – Eastern Europe & USSR: Circa 1980s’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Jordan, Jim, contributor. ‘Radio Moscow: September 19, 1984’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Holder, Ian, contributor. Broadcasts from Radio Moscow (news and memorial service). ‘Death of Leonid Brezhnev (1982)’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Morrow, Frank, contributor. ‘Alternative Views #159: INSIDE LEBANON’, 1982. Alternate Information Network. Internet Archive. 

Palestinian and Israeli dialogue session, cassette 0354-05, side a. ‘Forum ’85, U. N. World Conference on Women: Palestinian & Israeli Dialogue / Latin American Women & Peace / Women Against Nuclear War [cassettes 5 through 8 in a series of 29]’, 1985. Swarthmore College Peace Collection’s Sound Recordings. Internet Archive.  

Nelson, Scott, contributor. ‘Radio Moscow: January 08, 1987’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Nelson, Scott, contributor. ‘Armed Forces Radio and Television Service: December 24, 1986’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Watson, Paul, contributor. Broadcast from Radio Cairo. ‘Shortwave Broadcast Compilation – Africa and Middle East: Circa 1980s’. Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. 

Singh, S. Hazara, performer. ‘Aa Jane Jaan [Come here, my dear]’ (1969). Bollywood Steel Mixtape (RIAFC 029). Compiled by Nishant Mittal. Radio is a Foreign Country.

Bonfanti, Franco. ‘Ambiente Elegance [Elegant Ambiance]’ (1970s). Italian Film Soundtracks (RIAFC 049). Collection of Dan McMahon. Radio is a Foreign Country. 

References:

Al Awadhi, Jassim. Interview with Kamayani Sharma and May Rashed, 14 January 2025.

Al Madhloum, Hisham. Interview with Mahshid Rafiei and Hasan Hujairi, 25 June 2024.

Al Qasimi, Hoor. 1980–Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates. Sharjah Art Foundation, 2016.

Al Qasimi, Hoor. Hassan Sharif: I Am the Single Work Artist. Sharjah Art Foundation and Koenig Books, 2020.

Al Tashkeel, 1984–1992. Emirates Fine Arts Society, Sharjah. https://altashkeel.ae/media/

Aydabi, Yusuf. ‘The Art of the New: The Sphere Within a Shifting Reality’. Preface to Alat Hadah Lsan’ Al Fan [Sharp Tools for Making Art] by Hasan Sharif. Sharjah Department of Culture and Information, 1995.

Gronlund, Melissa. Interview with Kamayani Sharma and Mahshid Rafiei, Zoom, 25 June 2024.

Sharif, Hasan. Alat Hadah Lsan’ Al Fan [Sharp Tools for Making Art]. Sharjah Department of Culture and Information, 1995.

Stoby, Aisha. Khaleej Modern: Pioneers and Collectives in the Arabian Peninsula. NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, 2022.

Editorial and Content Support: Kate Sutton, Kathleen Butti, Natalia Ulloa, Rajwant Sandhu and Rosalyn D’Mello

Research Associate: May Rashed

 

Sound Engineer and Designer: Riya Raagini 

Podcast Producer and Writer: Kamayani Sharma 

Executive Producer and Writer: Jyoti Dhar

Special Thanks: Hoor Al Qasimi, Nawar Al Qasimi, Dima Bittard, Hasan Hujairi, Alyazeyah Al Marri, Mahshid Rafiei, Ghaith Khoury, Salwa Mikdadi, Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Abdullah Al Saadi, Talal Moualla, Nasir Nasrallah, Abdelaziz Mohamed AlMulla, Yalda Bidshahri, Joseph De la Cerna, Unnikrishnan Suresh Babu, Magdi Emad, Ismail Al-Rifai, Ziad Abdullah, Abdullah Hussein, Mohamad Al Saadei, Jiwon Lee, Tima Ouzden, Noora Al Mualla, Ahmad Makia, Heba Hosny and Jawed Ali Mohammed

This episode features interviews recorded in February 2024, June 2024, January 2025 and February 2026.

© Sharjah Art Foundation, 2026