Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento to curate Sharjah Biennial 17

Image: Paula Nascimento (left) and Angela Harutyunyan. Courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation

Sharjah Art Foundation has announced the appointment of Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento as the curators of the 17th edition of Sharjah Biennial, set to open in January 2027.

Bringing together distinct yet complementary perspectives, Harutyunyan and Nascimento will work in close collaboration to shape the upcoming edition as a platform for critical reflection, interdisciplinary experimentation, and alternative mappings of contemporary art and culture.

Angela Harutyunyan is Professor of Contemporary Art and Theory at the Berlin University of the Arts and a widely recognised scholar of post-Soviet art and culture. Her research spans Marxist aesthetics, historical temporality, and curatorial theory, with a focus on how cultural production can reconfigure dominant narratives and time regimes.

Paula Nascimento, based in Luanda, is an architect and independent curator whose work lies at the intersection of visual art, urbanism, geopolitics, and education. Her practice engages with interdisciplinary methodologies, often drawing on contemporary interpretations of historical currents in Africa and the Global South.

Together, Harutyunyan and Nascimento will lead the curatorial direction of Sharjah Biennial 17 by “exploring alternative contemporary realities and the imaginative potential of art,” as noted in the announcement. Their collaboration promises to bring a nuanced perspective to the Biennial.

Further details on the curatorial concept and participating artists will be announced in the lead-up to the 2027 edition.