Rights of Future Generations

Sharjah Architecture Triennial is pleased to announce the opening programme for its inaugural edition, Rights of Future Generations curated by Adrian Lahoud.

Running from Saturday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 12, the opening programme includes screenings, discussions, and performances. Each of the first three days unfolds along one perspective: Devotional Practices, Signs and Transmission, and Forms of Afterlife. Bringing together architects, artists, performers, choreographers, scientists, activists, and musicians, the Triennial claims that intergenerational rights are at the heart of our struggle against the climate crisis.

Exhibition participants and invited guests including Denise Ferreira da Silva, Jasbir K. Puar, Ghassan Abu Sitta, Tariq Ali, Fatou Kandé Senghor, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Tuan Andrew Ngyuen, and the Ngurrara artist community will discuss their work in a series of forums on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

The opening programme also features new commissions by HaRaKa Platform/Adham Hafez Company and musician Nicolás Jaar, as well as performances by choreographer Bouchra Ouizguen, and composer Dewa Alit & Gamelan Salukat. In collaboration with the curator, Ma3azef presents a line-up of musicians both emerging and established; amongst them, BLTNM, Nabihah Iqbal, Slikback, DJ Kampire, and Al Ahly Thikr Jamaah.

Grounded in the vision of Rights of Future Generations and its commitment to advancing the protection of the future generations’ fundamental rights in a world that is dramatically worsening in terms of climate change as well as socio-economic, gender, race and political dimensions, a Working Group chaired by Lumumba Di-Aping launches its work on Tuesday, November 12 with a day of lectures and a musical performance. 

The day’s focus is on the moral, political and science of climate change, the political economy of transformational transition aimed at radical reduction of greenhouse emissions, and the role of states in securing the rights of future generations. Speakers include: H.E. Thabo Mbeki (President of South Africa, 1999–2008); H. E. Dilma Rousseff (President of Brazil, 2011–16); Prof. Hoesung Lee and Prof. Youba Sokona (respectively Chair and Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change); H. E. Amb. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (President of the UN General Assembly, 73rd session); Prof. Ha-Joon Chang (Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge). Prof. Patrick Bond (University of Witwatersrand).

November 12 closes with a solo piano performance by Maestro Abdullah Ibrahim dedicated to the future generations. In February 2020, Ibrahim will perform an original composition on the theme of the Rights of Future Generations with his new philharmonic orchestra. 

Over the course of these four days, events take place in a series of venues across Sharjah and representing the emirate’s rich architectural history, including the newly renovated Al-Qasimiyah School in Al Manakh and old Al Jubail Souq Fruit & Vegetable Market, the Al Muraijah Art Spaces, the Mleiha archeological site, Africa Hall in Al Manakh, as well as a platform in Um Al Tarafa commissioned for the Triennial.

For the full schedule of events, please visit the new RFGen webpage here.

To register, please see here.

The Rights of Future Generations opening programme and exhibition are free and open to the public. The Triennial welcomes audiences and participants with diverse needs. For more information contact info@sharjaharchitecture.com

The UAE's leading integrated environmental, recycling & waste management company Bee’ah is the Platinum Sponsor of the inaugural edition for the inaugural edition of Sharjah Architecture Triennial.