Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival

The Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival (SIAF) has been a distinctive artistic event for twenty-five years. It has restored Islamic arts to their global status alongside other beautiful art forms. The 25th edition of SIAF affirmed the importance of highlighting Islamic arts through Emirati, Arab, and international contributions and openness to diverse experiences from all countries worldwide.

Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival contributes to enhancing the presence of Islamic art under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, affirming the importance of the arts as a bridge to bring people together and communicate through a unified language of creativity and art.

The 25th Edition was themed ‘Manifestations’, a word laden with profound aesthetic and intellectual significance, open to multiple interpretations varying among artists. Thus, the festival embraced diverse artistic expressions to encapsulate the theme’s vitality through various artistic presentations while preserving the intrinsic authenticity of Islamic arts. Throughout the festival, 132 events took place, including exhibitions, art workshops, and lectures organised by the Department of Culture in collaboration with 18 entities in Sharjah. These include institutions like the House of Wisdom, the Arab Photographers’ Union, the Photographic Society, the Emirates Fine Arts Society, and other cultural venues in Sharjah.

The visitors had an opportunity to explore 47 exhibitions housed by the Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah Calligraphy Museum, Khorfakkan Amphitheatre, Kalba Beach, Emirates Society for Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Ornamentation, and other exhibition venues.

SIAF presented 50 artists from 25 Arab countries, prominently led by the UAE. Other contributions extended across various Arab nations such as Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Jordan, alongside foreign countries like Spain, Poland, Turkey, Colombia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and more. These artists presented 319 artworks encompassing installations, calligraphy, murals, and paintings in authentic calligraphy and decoration. SIAF hosted 81 artistic workshops and over 80 guests, including media personalities, lecturers, calligraphers, and supervisors of art workshops.

It is also worth mentioning the parallel solo exhibitions within the festival, including ‘Sakeenat Al Harf’ by Emirati artist Abdulqader Al Rais at the Sharjah Calligraphy Museum, ‘Manifestations of a Verse’ by Moroccan artist Abderrahim Koulam in the calligraphy square, and ‘Gems of Letters’ by Turkish artist Farhad Gurlu at the calligraphy square.

Among the showcased artworks were the piece by Saudi artist Raghad Al Ahmad titled “The Night of Destiny” at the 1971 Design Space, ‘Eternal Gates: The Journey of Manifestation’ by Emirati artist Abdullah Al Neyadi at Kalba Beach, and the collaborative artwork ‘Hand in Hand with Sharjah’ by Kaz Shirane from Japan and Diana Nin from the United States. Moreover, the House of Wisdom hosted several works, including ‘Manifestations of the Soul’ by Kuwaiti artist Jasem Al Naseeb, ‘Shelter’ by UK-based artist Toy Studio, ‘Power of One’ by US-based Studio Choi+Shine, and various other artworks displayed across different areas in Sharjah.

The Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival (SIAF) once again proved to be one of the most important events to showcase Islamic arts and arts by contemporary artists influenced by Islamic art principles.