Barjeel Art Foundation: Cross-National Bridge Building and Decolonisation of the History of Art

This article focuses on the Barjeel Art Foundation based in Sharjah, UAE. Using a case study approach the work demonstrates how art, art exhibitions and museum spaces are positioned as influencers in the formation of an inclusive space within the History of Art for scholarship on modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 2010, the Barjeel is a strong proponent for cross-national bridge building through national and international temporary exhibitions. However, in 2018 the foundation altered their exhibition practice from temporary shows to a long-term display at the Sharjah Art Museum (SAM). I argue that this shift in exhibition practice from temporary/travelling to long-term/stationary is demonstrating the foundation's pendulum swing away from acting as cross-national bridge builder towards being an important supporter for the decolonisation of art history. To be clear, since its founding the Barjeel has always supported the development of Arab modern art through art collecting and temporary exhibition practices; however, since 2018, the foundation's curatorial choices are showing acknowledgment of the clear distinctions between engagement with art collecting or art criticism and the practices used in the discipline of the History of Art. To support this claim, the study argues that the Barjeel's recent long-term show at SAM is posing nuanced art historical questions, which engage with yet move far beyond art criticism and political discourse. In addition, through its long-term exhibition at SAM the Barjeel is defining its purpose away from modernism tied to Europe and making valuable contributions to region specific modernism in the History of Art.