His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Honors Winners of the 16th Sharjah Biennial

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, attended the ceremony honoring the winners of the 16th Sharjah Biennial on Thursday evening in the Heart of Sharjah area.

He was received upon his arrival by Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Art Foundation, Sheikha Hind bint Majid Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Business Women Council, Sheikha Nawar bint Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, and a number of heads and directors-general, directors of government departments, officials and artists.

The ceremony began with a visual presentation that reviewed the most prominent stages of preparations for this year's Biennial, as well as clips from previous sessions and the activities and events presented by the Biennial as a major global artistic event.

Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the Sharjah Art Foundation, delivered a speech in which she discussed the comprehensive vision that the Sharjah Biennial seeks as a distinguished creative artistic event on a global level, linked to the cultural project of Sharjah, which finds all the care and attention at the highest levels>

She said: Here is the 16th Sharjah Biennial landing in the city from which it was launched, carrying its gifts in its abundant baskets and blessed with the visions of its sponsor and founder, and here it is spreading its burdens across the emirate, equipped with the creativity of artists from all over the world, after it has traveled in places and times in search of the supreme value of man wherever he is, following the map drawn by the curators of the Biennial, as they search for the compatible in what seems different, the authentic in what seems hybrid, and the essential in what seems fleeting.

The President of the Sharjah Art Foundation referred to the slogan of the Biennale for this session and the philosophy and role of art in its broad sense in human life, pointing to the unlimited support of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah in all the projects presented by the smiling emirate, and added that this session was titled "Our Journeys", so what projects does this journey entail that can restore our exhausted selves due to what is happening in the world around us? Is there another way other than the way of art, that can represent salvation for us? Perhaps this is what we await to discover in the coming days and weeks.

She added: Sharjah... all of Sharjah from one end to the other celebrates this occasion, which we hope will be worthy of this good land, and worthy of my father, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, for whom I cannot find the words that surround his great giving, as all the phrases are immersed in the sea of ​​his wisdom, and all the outcomes that we aspire to stand at his first step, to my father and role model I dedicate this Biennale, and to you, the people of Sharjah and its residents.

At the end of her speech, Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi extended her thanks and appreciation to the curators of the exhibition, the artists, and all the participants, organizers and supporters.

Sheikha Nawar bint Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, delivered a speech in which she expressed her thanks and gratitude to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and his prominent role in making Sharjah a creative and generous cultural city, saying: As we witness the launch of the Sharjah Biennale in its sixteenth session, we are once again experiencing the feeling that we have become accustomed to at every prominent occasion hosted by this blessed land, the feeling that we live in an emirate that never stops giving.

She stressed that we are trying with all our might to offer something worthy of it, and worthy of its sponsor, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, who has given us a trust that we hope to be worthy of and has drawn for us with his wisdom a path that takes us to the ends of the earth, and perhaps as we sense this gift, we can give him some of what he has given us, and place in his hands the fruit of his precious orchards.

The Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation pointed out the role of the Sharjah Biennial in opening windows of creativity and arts for all creative artists, noting the role of the Biennial's curators and their long journey in researching and investigating the artistic experiences that participated in this year's edition. At the end of her speech, she thanked and appreciated the partners, supporters and participating artists.

At the end of the ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, honored the winners of the 16th edition of the Sharjah Biennial on Thursday evening, during a ceremony held in the Heart of Sharjah area. His Highness honored the winners of this year's Sharjah Biennial, namely Aziz Hazara, Plavi Paul, and Prachaya Phinthong.

Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi also honored the sponsors of this session and partners, and took commemorative photos with them on this occasion.

This year’s Biennale curators, Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati, Natasha Ginwala, and Zeynep Oz, delivered speeches in which they pointed out the importance of the artistic projects that the Biennale has monitored in this session, which brings together different and distinguished creativity and represents a cultural platform for communication, cultural exchange, and the exchange of ideas.