Kate Newby, exhibited at Kalba Ice Factory, Sharjah, is originally from Aotearoa New Zealand. Newby is a leading installation artist who exhibits globally. In this Artist In Focus video, we explore how Newby works with glass, ceramics, metals, rope, concrete and other materials - some found, some altered, some formed. Her work ranges from subtle and slight gestures in modest scale to whole rooms and architectural interventions inside galleries, buildings or outdoor spaces. Newby currently lives in Texas, USA, but her work is site responsive, referencing the ordinary or every day and what is often missed or unseen. Newby’s installation Cold Water (2025) on the facade of the Kalba Ice Factory uses found and recycled rope and handmade glass. This work for the 16th Sharjah Biennial is inspired, as the artist has said, by the ‘distinctive light of Sharjah and the sensory experience of the site’. Her installation engages with the movement of the sun, its light and shadow, which will transform and evolve daily over the life of the exhibition. An influence for this installation is Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels (1973–1976) in the Great Basin Desert, Utah, USA. Watch this artist interview to find out more about contemporary art in the Middle East. Cold Water is commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation with the support of Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa. Courtesy of Galerie Art: Concept, Paris. 

Subscribe to Sharjah Art Foundation's Youtube channel for more artist stories, exhibitions, and behind-the-scenes insights.

Director - @ward helal  

Camera Operators - @ward helal, Magdi Emad, @shefeek_sha_nk, @alialfadly1  

Editor - @ward_helal  

Sound Design - @unnikrishnan.sb  

Production Manager - @dimzyb  

Assistant Director - @unnikrishnan.sb