Sharjah Art Foundation has opened 'In Absence and in Presence: Works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection' at Aranya Art Center in Guangzhou, marking its largest presentation in Asia to date. Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi and Damien Zhang, the exhibition brings together over 70 works from the foundation's collection, spanning painting, sculpture, photography, video, and textile. The show traces artistic dialogues across West Asia, South Asia, Africa, and their diasporas, treating land not merely as territory but as memory, imagination, and lived experience. Assistant Curator May Alqaydi discusses how the exhibition reflects on displacement, interconnected histories, and shifting geographies, with works by artists such as Akram Zaatari, Hassan Sharif, Baya, Farideh Lashai, Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, Tarek Al-Ghoussein, and Aref El Rayess.
This exhibition matters because it challenges Western-centric art historical frameworks by foregrounding artists who have experienced political upheaval, migration, or exile, and whose work redefines land as an emotional and imaginative space rather than a fixed geographic location. By placing modern and contemporary works in dialogue across regions and generations, the show reveals pre-existing artistic exchanges and influences, making visible the shared language of displacement and belonging. It also underscores Sharjah Art Foundation's growing international role in presenting non-Western art narratives and fostering cross-cultural collaboration between institutions in the Gulf and Asia.