Sharjah Art Foundation has awarded its biannual Production Programme grants to 10 artists selected from an international open call. In this 7th cycle of the Production Programme, a total of $200,000 will be distributed to provide core funding and professional support for the realisation of the selected grantees’ proposed projects.

According to a press release, the 2020 grantees are Jumana Emil Abboud, Mohamed Abdelkarim, Noor Abuarafeh, Basma al-Sharif, Abdessamad El Montassir, Kooken Ergun, Pak Khawateen Painting Club, Moad Musbahi, Philip Rizk and Subversive Film.

As one of Sharjah Art Foundation’s core initiatives, the Production Programme aims to broaden the possibilities for the production of art in the MENASA region through the support of innovation and excellence in artistic practice and the encouragement of risk-taking and experimentation.

Through the biannual Production Programme open call, art practitioners are invited to propose imaginative, ambitious and inspirational projects that will expand the understanding of what art is and how it can be experienced.

The 2020 grantees were selected by an international jury composed of Iftikhar Dadi, Lara Khaldi and Agustin Perez Rubio. While originally tasked with selecting two to six proposals from a group of short-listed applicants from the open call, the Foundation and the 2020 jury expanded the number of grantees to 10 this past March, in response to the economic hardships faced by artists and funding bodies due to the global pandemic.