Sharjah Art Foundation presents Tarek Atoui: Cycles in 11, a major solo exhibition that marks over a decade of work created by sound artist Tarek Atoui in collaboration with the Foundation and the surrounding Sharjah community. Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation.
The works in the exhibition represent the culmination of the artist’s ongoing exploration of different methods of listening, composition and performance. The instruments created by Atoui are the product of extensive research into music history and tradition as well as collaborations with different experts. Challenging established ways of listening through innovative approaches to sound, the instruments also build on the artist’s earlier project WITHIN, which grew out of years of work with Deaf culture. This project, originating in Sharjah, investigated how deafness can influence the way sound performance, space and instrumentation are understood.
Exploring new methods of collaboration and production, Atoui’s work often revolves around performances that develop from his extensive research into music history and tradition. His use of sound challenges and expands established ways of understanding and experiencing this medium.
During the exhibition, the heritage house Bait Al Serkal, a principal Foundation venue located in Sharjah’s arts area, will operate as both a sound lab and a performance and listening space informed by the local tradition of hospitality.
Cycles in 11 will also be the starting point for a regional and international residency programme that will extend into 2022. Musicians, composers and artists will be invited to develop new work for the residency, either individually or with different audiences in Sharjah.
Cycles in 11 runs from 19 September 2020 to 10 April 2021
Info extracted from press release.