Sharjah Art Foundation

Radial Histories: Art and Exchange in Sharjah, 1960s-1980s

Arts EN ↓ 7 episodes

How did a fine arts scene first emerge in Sharjah?  What connected artists in the UAE to cultural movements in the Gulf, the wider Arab world and beyond?  And how can we rethink about modernism in the region before the rise of today’s global contemporary art scene, of which the UAE is a major hub?   To find out, tune in to Radial Histories, a six-part audio miniseries  that brings to light untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial in 1993.  Taking Sharjah as its point of departure, the serie...

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Sharjah Art Foundation

Episodes

CHAPTER 06: Afterword 22.05.2026 12:42

Radial Histories , a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial. In this episode, host May Alqaydi and researchers Kamayani Sharma and H...

CHAPTER 05: The 1980s—The Years Before the Biennial 22.05.2026 43:12

Radial Histories , a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial. In the 1980s, Sharjah was witness to the rise of experimental practices...

CHAPTER 04: 1980s—Building an Art Community in Sharjah 22.05.2026 54:53

Radial Histories , a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial. This chapter explores the vibrant artistic landscape of Sharjah during...

CHAPTER 03: The 1970s—Art Education and Cultural Exchange 22.05.2026 45:20

Radial Histories , a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial. In this episode, we enter the 1970s—an era of radio waves, revolu...

CHAPTER 02: The 1960s—Photography, Pedagogy and Pan-Arabism 22.05.2026 30:31

Radial Histories , a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial. Set against the rise of Pan-Arabism and the era of Gamal Abdel Nasser,...

CHAPTER 01: Overview 22.05.2026 18:59

Radial Histories , a six-part audio miniseries produced by Sharjah Art Foundation, weaves together oral histories, archival sound and scholarly commentary to narrate untold stories about visual art in Sharjah and the wider UAE from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, just before the inception of the Sharjah Biennial.  Before the international acclaim of the Sharjah Biennial and the UAE’...

What is Radial Histories? 21.05.2026 1:16

CREDITS    Music and Sound:   Balfaqih, Abu Bakr Salem, singer. ‘Kamalreeshah [Like a Feather]’, 1974. Electric Oasis: 1001 Volts of Maghreb & Arab Remixes (RIAFC 113). Duckfood & Rebel Up. Radio is a Foreign Country.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.