The curatorial framework for the 10th edition of the Sharjah Biennial, titled Plot for a Biennial draws on the idea of a treatment for film, replete with a plot, characters and motives. It is woven from a constellation of key words and themes that include Treason, Necessity, Insurrection, Affiliation, Corruption, Devotion, Disclosure and Translation.
Within this conceptual and lexical framework, artists, filmmakers, musicians, writers and performers constitute a cast of protagonists that include The Traitor, The Collaborator, The Experientialist and The Traducer. We propose Plot for a Biennial as a platform for multiple conversations with a distinctly worldly perspective yet thoroughly engaged with the city of Sharjah, its past and present, and its political economy centred on trade and translation.
Artists' contributions come to life in a variety of forms and encounters, encompassing painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, etching, cartography, film, performances, publications and lectures. Seminal works by established figures are presented in relation to contemporary artists from over thirty countries across a host of sites and spaces, from the Arts and Heritage areas to the Institute for Theatrical Arts, Hamra Cinema and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.