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| Barjeel Art Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Barjeel Art Foundation |
| Established | 2010 |
| Location | Sharjah, United Arab Emirates |
| Type | Art museum, non-profit |
| Founder | Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi |
| Director | Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi |
Barjeel Art Foundation is a non-profit art institution based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, founded to collect, preserve, and promote modern and contemporary art from the Arab world. The foundation builds public access through exhibitions, loans, publications, and collaborations with museums, galleries, cultural institutions, and universities across the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia. It seeks to reframe narratives about Arab modernism through partnerships with curators, artists, collectors, and academics.
The foundation was established in 2010 by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, engaging with artists and institutions such as Shirin Neshat, Mona Hatoum, Farid Belkahia, Ghada Amer, Lina Bo Bardi, Etel Adnan, Khalil Rabah, Dia al-Azzawi, Marwan, Samia Halaby, Hassan Sharif, Zarina Hashmi, Khaled Hafez, Ayman Baalbaki, Nabil Nahas, Adel Abidin, Walid Raad, Abdulnasser Gharem, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Ismail Fattah, Fateh Moudarres, Maqbool Fida Husain, Saad Qureshi, Mohamed Melehi, and Youssef Nabil. The early acquisitional strategy aligned with collectors and dealers including Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, Ayyam Gallery, Green Art Gallery, Lawrie Shabibi, Leila Heller Gallery, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, The Third Line, Canvas Gallery, and Louvre Abu Dhabi for contextual exchange. Barjeel hosted projects in collaboration with curators linked to Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Sharjah Biennial, Venice Biennale, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Tate Modern, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, Centre Pompidou, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, and Smithsonian Institution.
The collection emphasizes twentieth-century and contemporary art from across the Arab world, featuring works by artists from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Mauritania, Somalia, and Djibouti. Notable holdings include paintings, sculptures, installations, prints, and tapestries by figures such as Youssef Nabil, Etel Adnan, Dia al-Azzawi, Fateh Moudarres, Marwan, Samia Halaby, Hassan Sharif, Adel Abidin, Abdulnasser Gharem, Mokhtar Alkhanshali, Ali Omar Ermes, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Huda Lutfi, Khaled Hafez, Ayman Baalbaki, Nabil Nahas, Zineb Sedira, Shahzia Sikander, Walid Raad, Emily Jacir, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Mokhtar Salim, Yto Barrada, Hanaa Malallah, Ghassan Ghareghe, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Ibrahim Al-Khalil, Fereshta Kazemi, and Nabil Anani. The collection has been used to support thematic exhibitions on topics resonant with institutions such as Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, SOAS University of London, New York University, Yale University, Syracuse University, American University of Beirut, Zayed University, and King's College London.
Barjeel organized and loaned works to major exhibitions at venues including Whitechapel Gallery, Tate Modern, Royal Academy of Arts, Musée du Louvre, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, The Photographers' Gallery, Musée d'Orsay, Hamburger Bahnhof, Haus der Kunst, Kunsthalle Vienna, MAXXI, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Sharjah Art Museum, Jameel Arts Centre, Abu Dhabi Art, Art Dubai, Venice Biennale, São Paulo Biennial, Documenta, Frieze}}, FIAC, Art Basel, Manifesta, Sursock Museum, Beirut}}, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Istanbul Modern, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Barjeel Pavilion collaborations, and touring exhibitions held at M+ Museum, Asia Society, Mori Art Museum, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Institute of Chicago, Rijksmuseum, Kunstmuseum Basel, National Galleries of Scotland, Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Qatar, Doha Fire Station, Sharjah Biennial, and Bahrain National Museum.
Educational initiatives engaged audiences through collaborations with Sharjah Department of Culture and Information, Sharjah Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, World Bank, UNESCO, UNDP, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Institut du Monde Arabe, Institut Français, Asian Cultural Council, Fondation Cartier, Prince Claus Fund, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Gulf Research Center, Barbican Centre, ZKM, Tate Exchange, and university programs at American University in Cairo, Bard College, Royal College of Art, Pratt Institute, CalArts, MIT, Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University. Workshops, lectures, residencies, and catalogues engaged curators such as Okwui Enwezor, Hans Ulrich Obrist, RoseLee Goldberg, Lynne Cooke, Maya Allison, Farah Nayeri, Hrag Vartanian, Claire Bishop, Judd Tully, Andrew Solomon, and scholars like Ebrahim Moosa, Said Amir Arjomand, Nadia Yaqub, Gilane Tawadros, Nada Shabout, Salwa Mikdadi, and Wijdan Ali.
The foundation operates as a private non-profit under the patronage and leadership of Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi with advisory input from curators, board members, and cultural partners including Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah Museums Authority, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development (UAE), Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival, United Nations, Emirates Foundation, Abu Dhabi Culture, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and donor networks involving collectors, philanthropists, and cultural trusts such as Al Qasimi Family, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abdullah Al Otaiba, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foundation, Arthur Ross Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, Getty Foundation, Ford Foundation, British Council, British Museum Trust, European Cultural Foundation, and private patrons from United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt.
Headquartered in Sharjah, the foundation maintains storage, conservation, and research facilities in proximity to institutions like Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Al Majaz, Al Qasimia, Al Muntasir, Al Jubail, Al Khan, Al Qasba, and the Sharjah Corniche. Exhibition spaces and loan coordination occurred at partner venues including Warehouse421, Sikka Art Fair, Alserkal Avenue, Jameel Arts Centre, Tashkeel, The Third Line, Factory Berlin, Foundazione Prada, Serpentine Galleries, K21 Düsseldorf, Carnegie Museum of Art, and Frick Collection.
The foundation has been recognized for reshaping international perceptions of Arab modernism and fostering scholarship through catalogues, symposia, and loans that informed exhibitions at Tate Modern, British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim, Centre Pompidou, Princeton University Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Gallery, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, Serpentine Galleries, Hayward Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, Sotheby's, Christie's, Apollo Magazine, Artforum, ArtReview, The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Al Jazeera English, BBC Arts, and The National (Abu Dhabi). Critics, curators, and academics have debated the foundation's role in market visibility, provenance practices, and curatorial narratives alongside debates in institutions like ICOM, Cultural Property Advisory Committee, International Council of Museums, and at conferences hosted by College Art Association and International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art.
Category:Art museums and galleries in the United Arab Emirates