Announcement of the Curator for next edition

The Lahore Biennale Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, as Curator for the second edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB02). LB02 will be held in Lahore, Pakistan in early 2020. It will present new commissions, large-scale installations, and discursive programming that will take place at various venues in the city of Lahore.

This announcement comes six months after the inaugural Lahore Biennale, held in March 2018 which was a fourteen-day event that showcased over 100 artworks across seven major venues in Lahore. The inaugural Lahore Biennale was invested in situating itself in the region’s critical discourse on contemporary art and saw the participation of artists and academics from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. For the second edition of the Lahore Biennale, the Foundation is interested in extending its regional scope towards West Asia and the Middle East.

Under Al Qasimi’s leadership, the Sharjah Art Foundation and its core initiative, the Sharjah Biennial have both developed as major platforms for the promotion of contemporary art from the region, and internationally. She has been pivotal in this regard for artists from Pakistan and South Asia through grants and commissions provided by the wide ranging initiatives of the Sharjah Art Foundation. Al Qasimi’s selection as curator for LB02 signals a further strengthening of the relationship between the two regions and their respective artistic communities.  

The Lahore Biennale Foundation also recognizes alignment between its public arts mandate and the mission of the Sharjah Biennial established in 1993 and the Sharjah Art Foundation that has operated as a catalyst and a producer of contemporary arts since 2009. In addition to her significant contribution to the development of art infrastructures in the MENASA region, Al Qasimi’s experience in the curation of major exhibitions and surveys of Middle Eastern, African and global art is noteworthy.

At the occasion of Al Qasimi’s appointment, Chairman of the Board of the Lahore Biennale Foundation, Osman Khalid Waheed stated, “LBF is delighted to have Hoor Al Qasimi as its curator for the second edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB02). Apart from her deep knowledge and extensive curatorial experience, Al Qasimi brings a very special energy to her projects. As the driving force behind the Sharjah Art Foundation and the Sharjah Biennial, Al Qasimi has explored and demonstrated the power of art to transform narratives and transcend borders. Her work is an inspiration for the Lahore Biennale Foundation, and we hope that her involvement will further propel LBF in establishing Lahore as an international platform for some of the most exciting contemporary art in the region.”

Biography of the curator
President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, Hoor Al Qasimi’s recent curatorial projects include solo exhibitions of Amal Kenawy (2018), Hassan Sharif (2017), Yayoi Kusama (2016), Robert Breer (2016), Farideh Lashai (2016), Rasheed Araeen (2014) and Susan Hefuna (2014). Curator for the UAE National Pavilion, Venice Biennale (2015), she was co-curator for Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige: Two Suns in a Sunset (2016) and major surveys, including The Khartoum School: The Making of the Modern Art Movement in Sudan (1945–present) (2016–2017). Co-curator of Sharjah Biennial 6 (2003), she has since continued as Biennial Director.

President of the International Biennial Association, Chair of the Advisory Board, College of Art and Design, University of Sharjah, President of Africa Hall, Sharjah, Al Qasimi serves on the boards of MoMA PS1, New York; Kunst-Werke, Berlin; Ashkal Alwan, Beirut; Sharjah Architecture Triennial, and the advisory boards of Khoj, New Delhi and Darat al Funun, Amman.

Al Qasimi received a BFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London, a Diploma in Painting from the Royal Academy of Arts, London and an MA in Curating from the Royal College of Art, London.​