Sharjah Art Foundation has announced details for the 17th edition of the Sharjah Biennial, titled “What remains, sits restive,” running from January 21 to June 13, 2027. The large-scale contemporary art event will feature 109 participants across multiple sites in the emirate, including Sharjah City, Al Dhaid, Khor Fakkan, and Kalba. Confirmed artists include Anri Sala, Hassan Khan, Ibrahim Mahama, Oscar Murillo, Zina Saro-Wiwa, and Angela Ferreira. The biennial will be curated by Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento, each presenting separate sections under a shared theme examining how past political and cultural histories shape present-day realities through time, memory, and space.
The announcement matters because the Sharjah Biennial is one of the UAE’s longest-running contemporary art events, known for bringing together international creatives for exhibitions and site-specific works. The curatorial framework—focusing on socialist modernity and infrastructure—promises a deep engagement with historical legacies and their ongoing influence on artistic practice. With 109 participants and locations spanning urban, coastal, and inland sites, the 2027 edition reinforces Sharjah’s role as a major hub for global contemporary art discourse.