With Benji Boyadgian  

Ages 18+

In English
 

In response to pressing environmental issues, many artists have taken a stance in their practices. This course considers a number of these artistic initiatives, particularly from the Global South, to explore how art can address the environmental crisis and questions about how ‘nature’ has been conceptualised.

Participants will delve into the concepts, propositions, discourses and scales of intervention in diverse artistic approaches and reflect on what these approaches tell us about the world in which we live. From working at a microscopic scale to deconstructing structures and systems, from engaging in community-based approaches or experimenting with alternative gardening to reviving non-western philosophical understandings of nature, these endeavours have the potential to build an imaginary of possible futures.

The course will be structured around presentations of different art projects and their conceptualisation of environmental issues. The presentations will be followed by group discussions and other activities related to topics for the course, including the notion of ‘nature’, the human/non-human relationship, questions of temporality and the Anthropocene/Capitalocene debate.

This course is free, and all materials are provided by Sharjah Art Foundation.

 

About Benji Boyadgian

Benji Boyadgian (b. 1983, Jerusalem) is a painter and multimedia artist whose work revolves around themes of perception, memory, territory, environment, architecture and landscape. His work has been exhibited at Centro Internacional das Artes José de Guimarães, Portugal (2024); EVA International, Limerick (2021); SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin (2020); Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai (2019); Istanbul Modern (2019); Exhibition Laboratory, University of the Arts Helsinki (2019); Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm (2019); DEPO, Istanbul (2019); Palestinian Museum, Birzeit (2019); B7L9, Tunis (2019); and Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem (2018), among others. Boyadgian studied architecture at L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris La Villette, specialising in urban sociology in post-conflict areas.

Sharjah Art Foundation is committed to making its programmes inclusive and accessible. Disability access symbols indicating accessibility for course sessions can be found on the registration form. Kindly contact us in advance to arrange for any support needed.

For more information, email learning@sharjahart.org or call 06 568 5050.