On the eve of the 11th Sharjah Biennial

Shimabuko's boat trip. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation

On Wednesday, the event that populates the entire historic area of Sharjah begins with an opening week of programmes including film, music, interactive art and lively discussion. On the eve of the event, we take five minutes with to the curator Yuko Hasegawa and Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, the founder of Sharjah Art Foundation, the hosts of the event, to find out more

Sheikha Hoor

On childhood: "I grew up going to the cultural centre and the Biennial has been there since 1993. It was part of my life."

On family: "I never go straight to my Dad I always go through proper channels. I don’t want to do it any other way, that is not how I have been brought up."

On work: "I am not the kind of person that will sit behind a desk so I travel every couple of days to make connections with different institutions, artists and studios. It is about being informed; it is so important to have these connections."

On the art scene: "What has happened in the last 10 years, due to education here, is the audience is much more knowledgable now. When I first started there were only a few people breaking out of the box so it was really important to keep going.

On the future: "People always ask what is my ambition for the future and it is not so much about that it is just doing what feels right for Sharjah – it comes really naturally."

Yuko Hasegawa

On curating: "I am very much interested in site specific art, I am not a curator who just brings exhibitions into this land – I get ideas from the cityscape and the context. My curatorial policy is how to bring the art alive for the people living here."

On the courtyard: "Many artists have their own traditions but they make a dialogue between each other and they have their own experiences. Together they fuse their cultural backgrounds and this is the idea of a courtyard for knowledge production."