A long-term exhibition, A Century in Flux​: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, has opened at the Sharjah Art Museum featuring a selection of key modernist paintings, sculptures and mixed media artworks from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection.
 
The exhibition was inaugurated by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan founder of UAE Unlimited in the presence of Her Excellency Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, His Excellency Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State, Mohammed Al Murr, Vice Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Former Speaker of Federal National Council, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Executive Chairman of the Department of Government Relations, Manal Ataya, Director General of the Sharjah Museums Authority and Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation.
 
Curated by Salwa Mikdadi with Barjeel curators Mandy Merzaban and Karim Sultan, the exhibition covers a century of artistic production in the Arab region and its diaspora, beginning from the late 19th century to the late 20th Century. The exhibition will remain on display for the next five years through an agreement between the Sharjah Museums Authority and Barjeel Art Foundation.
 
Manal Ataya, Director General of the Sharjah Museums Authority, said: "This partnership between the Sharjah Museums Authority and the Barjeel Art Foundation will make over 100 significant pieces of modern Arab art available to the public.
 
"With the 5 year permanent display at the Sharjah Art Museum, art lovers, researchers, artists and students from the UAE as well as visitors will be able to fully enjoy and appreciate these wonderful examples of modern Arab art that have been chosen from the Foundation's collection.
 
"The Sharjah Museums Authority and the Barjeel Art Foundation have a shared commitment to the region's art and culture. This agreement between the two organizations will include an extensive education program to run alongside the display to ensure our public benefit as much as possible.”
 
A Century in Flux aims to make a selection of modern works accessible for study by researchers, scholars, artists, curators and art enthusiasts to encourage a greater understanding of the region’s history of artistic production. The exhibition features works by notable modernist artists such as Ibrahim El-Salahi, Saloua Raouda Choucair, and Kadhim Hayder. Also included are recent acquisitions such as Dia Azzawi’s 1968 work A Wolf Howls: Memories of a Poet, a painting based on the poem “Hassan Al Shammus” by Muzaffar Al Nawab. A number of contemporary works will punctuate the exhibition that resonate with those from the modern period and offer a sense of continuity with the present.
 
This well-documented collection of modern and contemporary art is known for its inclusion of significant 20th century art from across the Arab region. Over the past decade, Barjeel’s team has overseen the expansion of the collection, curating and collaborating on 30 local, regional, and international art exhibitions. These exhibitions were coupled with the release of numerous publications and the organisation of public programmes, with the aim of reflecting on Arab history through its art and artists.

Website: http://www.sharjahmuseums.ae