The 12th Biennale of Contemporary Art in Sharjah will open on March 5. For three months, the Arts Area will discuss the problems of contemporary culture, and introduce educational and research initiatives. The concept of the biennale is the study of the impact of the ideological position of the artist on the development of society and overcoming cultural and political barriers. A complex and multifaceted topic was proposed by the curator Yunji Joo, the head of the art and cultural programs of the Inyotima Institute in Brumandinho (Brazil). The discussion process will bring together more than 50 artists and cultural workers from 25 countries.
Special sessions about the country without an address will be held by Maxim Gvindzhia, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia and the main character of the documentary "Letters to Max" by young French director Eric Baudelaire. The film is based on the correspondence of Eric Baudelaire and Maxim Gvindzhiy: paper letters to the unrecognized state and audio recordings of responses. 74 letters were sent in 74 days, in each of them - a study of the imaginary, ephemeral nature of any statehood and national identity, where collective memory means as much as collective oblivion about those who have no place in modern history.
"Letters to Max" is part of the current project "Sessions of Separatism". The film will be first shown in the UAE as part of the art biennale. Maxim Gvindzhia will hold meetings with artists and schoolchildren on March 5 and 6 at the Sharjah Institute of Theater Arts.
