Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual photography exhibition Vantage Point Sharjah returns for its 11th edition from 14 October to 14 January, featuring artists “whose work challenges established notions of photographic practices” – four individuals and one collective, chosen through an international open call that received more than 350 applications.
VPS is always interesting, testing the boundaries and demonstrating the possibilities for the medium. It also tends to stretch the definition of what an exhibition should comprise; and while it doesn’t have a specific theme, this year VPS identifies and supports early-career photographers from Africa and Asia (those who were born there, who are currently based there, or who are part of the diaspora. “The selected artists embody diverse approaches but share overlapping tendencies,” say the organisers, citing “the pursuit of contemporary image-making techniques, the recontextualisation of found or inherited images and engagement with the visual afterlives of colonialist legacies”:
Works by these emerging artists will be displayed in two exhibition modes: independent presentations of the artists’ individual practices and a communal storytelling space that interweaves their combined practices.
VPS 11 also introduces a one-on-one professional mentoring programme. Participating artists will be paired with cultural practitioners or industry professionals of their choice so that they can improve their skills and take advantage of a unique learning experience led by experts in the field.
The exhibition is at the Old Al Diwan Al Amiri in Al Hamriyah, Sharjah. It’s open 9am to 9pm, Saturday to Thursday, and 4-9pm on Friday; it runs to 14 January. Admission is of course free.
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