Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) has announced the launch of its autumn 2019 Education and Community programme, which includes workshops, courses, talks, excursions, and other activities tailored to children and adults of all backgrounds, ages, abilities and skill levels. Running through Thursday, 26 December 2019, this season’s programme features over 130 events led by art professionals and cultural practitioners. Subjects cover photography, painting, music, performance, and more. Visitors can learn more and register their attendance on the foundation’s website.

‘Engaging with all members of the community has always been at the heart of Sharjah Art Foundation’s mission,’ said Sheikha Noora Al Mualla, Director of Learning and Research. ‘Our Education and Community programme is tailored to diverse audiences of all abilities and skill levels, from children as young as three years old to families and adults who are professionals in their fields. The programme continues to provide inclusive access to artistic and cultural education for neighbourhoods and communities across the city and the emirate of Sharjah. We look forward to welcoming everyone to join us in this season’s exciting line-up of events.’

The year-round programme’s diverse activities are often linked to ongoing Sharjah Art Foundation exhibitions and events, such as FOCAL POINT, the foundation’s annual art book fair. Specially designed to encourage creativity through dialogue, experimentation, and active engagement, as well as providing hands-on experiences to develop technical skills, the programme offers its activities across the city and emirate of Sharjah, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity. In addition to the foundation’s spaces in the city’s Al Mureijah Square and Arts Square, the programme also offers activities in Sharjah Art Institute, Al Hamriyah Art Centre, Al Dhaid Art Centre, Al Madam Art Centre, Kalba Art Centre, Dibba Al Hisn Art Centre and Khorfakkan Art Centre.

A selection of highlights from this season’s Education and Community programme is listed below:

• Workshop: How to Draw Manga

This workshop will focus on manga comics and graphic novels, which are at the heart of Japanese pop and entertainment culture. Informed by the contemporary art in the foundation’s annual FOCAL POINT art book fair and the upcoming SHARJAPAN2 exhibition, the workshop invites participants to learn the art of Japanese manga and techniques for creating comic strips.

• Workshop: Drawing in Rain Room Sharjah

Following a guided tour of SAF’s Rain Room Sharjah, an immersive installation created by Random International, participants will create a drawing that reflects on their experience after walking through the project’s continuous rainfall without getting wet.

• Talk: On Collecting, Preserving and the Archival Impulse

In conjunction with Sharjah Art Foundation’s exhibition Akram Zaatari: Against Photography. An Annotated History of the Arab Image Foundation, on view from 27 September 2019 to 10 January 2020, artist and Arab Image Foundation co-founder Akram Zaatari and the show’s curator Hiuwai Chu will discuss the exhibition’s themes and the expansion of the definition of photography. They will also explore issues around archival culture and preservation, raising critical questions around authorship, ownership and the act of preservation as a creative practice.

To learn more, view this season’s comprehensive schedule, and register your attendance, visit sharjahart.org.