• Ziaul Huque's 'Sins of Human II' is one of the works on display at Vantage Point Sharjah 10. All Photos: Sharjah Art Foundation
    Ziaul Huque's 'Sins of Human II' is one of the works on display at Vantage Point Sharjah 10. All Photos: Sharjah Art Foundation
  • 'Najmeh Kazazi' by Maryam Firuzi.
    'Najmeh Kazazi' by Maryam Firuzi.
  • 'Untold Stories' by Ali Bahmani.
    'Untold Stories' by Ali Bahmani.
  • 'Big Fish II' by Morteza Niknahad.
    'Big Fish II' by Morteza Niknahad.
  • 'Untitled' by Rima Maroun.
    'Untitled' by Rima Maroun.

Vantage Point Sharjah returns and showcases pieces from 66 artists


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

It is a milestone for any art exhibition to celebrate its 10th iteration and Vantage Point Sharjah is marking that occasion.

The annual photography exhibition opens on Friday at Sharjah Art Foundation’s Al Hamriyah Studios. It will be running until December 11. Works by 66 artists from 34 countries were selected for the exhibition from more than 450 applications.

The open call for Vantage Point Sharjah 10 invited works that showcase visual storytelling and the art form's ability to capture social realities from multiple perspectives.

'Najmeh Kazazi' by Maryam Firuzi will be shown at Vantage Point Sharjah 10. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation
'Najmeh Kazazi' by Maryam Firuzi will be shown at Vantage Point Sharjah 10. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

The Vantage Point Photography Award, running in conjunction with the exhibition, will honour five of the participating photographers.

The winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000. The four runners-up will each receive $1,500. The jury this year comprises of acclaimed photographers Solmaz Daryani, Lamya Gargash and Sohrab Hura.

Launched in 2013 with the aim of commemorating photography as an artistic medium, the exhibition has since evolved into a dynamic platform that embraces multiple approaches, from photojournalism and photo essays to experimental works in both digital and analogue formats.

Last year, photographs by more than 50 artists were featured in the exhibition. The photographs were displayed under four novel categories — photojournalism and documentary, conceptual, experimental and staged photography.

Instead of being organised according to category, however, the long hallways of Al Hamriyah Studios, which border a central open-air courtyard, were lined with differing photographs that blended narratives and themes.

The exhibition has previously focused on themes such as architecture and urban landscape, portraiture and performance.

Vantage Point Sharjah is free to attend. However, advance registration is required at sharjahart.org

Scroll the gallery below to see the artworks from Vantge Point Sharjah 9

  • Devashish Gaur, 'Diptych, Witnesses of Existence' from the series 'This is the Closest We Will Get’. The annual exhibition is taking place at Al Hamriyah Studios in Sharjah until December 18. All photos: Sharjah Art Foundation
    Devashish Gaur, 'Diptych, Witnesses of Existence' from the series 'This is the Closest We Will Get’. The annual exhibition is taking place at Al Hamriyah Studios in Sharjah until December 18. All photos: Sharjah Art Foundation
  • Isik Kaya 'Untitled I' from the series 'Second Nature’
    Isik Kaya 'Untitled I' from the series 'Second Nature’
  • Isik Kaya was named the winner of the conceptual photography category
    Isik Kaya was named the winner of the conceptual photography category
  • Reyad Abedin's 'In Search of Lost Tune I'
    Reyad Abedin's 'In Search of Lost Tune I'
  • An untitled photograph from Khadija El Abyad's ‘Défilé de l'intime’ series
    An untitled photograph from Khadija El Abyad's ‘Défilé de l'intime’ series
  • Devashish Gaur was selected as winner of the experimental photography award for his six-part photo series 'This is the Closest We Will Get'
    Devashish Gaur was selected as winner of the experimental photography award for his six-part photo series 'This is the Closest We Will Get'
  • Khadija El Abyad was named the winner of the staged photography category at this year’s Vantage Point Sharjah
    Khadija El Abyad was named the winner of the staged photography category at this year’s Vantage Point Sharjah
  • Bangladeshi photographer Reyad Abedin won the award for photojournalism and documentary photography
    Bangladeshi photographer Reyad Abedin won the award for photojournalism and documentary photography
Updated: September 16, 2022, 3:00 PM