Hoor Al Qasimi Named Artistic Director of Aichi Triennale

Conversation Hoor Al-Qasimi Stephanie Bailey

Aichi Triennale today announced that Hoor Al Qasimi will helm the event’s sixth edition in 2025.

She is its first artistic director to be chosen from outside Japan since the Aichi Triennale was established in 2010.

‘I have had a long history with Japan, its language, culture, artists and curators,’ Al Qasimi said in a statement, ‘and am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside many more professionals to learn more about Aichi.’

Al Qasimi is the founder of the Sharjah Art Foundation and President of the International Biennial Association. In a statement, organisers said they chose Al Qasimi for her ‘extensive experience and achievements’, global network, ability to bring fresh a perspective, and organisational leadership skills.

Al Qasimi co-curated the sixth Sharjah Biennial in 2003, and has served as the UAE-based festival’s director for the past 20 years. In 2009, she founded the Sharjah Art Foundation, which she presides over as President and Director, overseeing a wide range of programmes promoting the arts in Sharjah and beyond.

Earlier this year, Al Qasimi curated the Sharjah Biennial’s 30th anniversary edition, titled Thinking Historically in the Present. The exhibition was conceived by Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor, who died in 2019.

Al Qasimi said she was grateful to be able ‘to work closely with local artists and communities to produce what I hope would be a meaningful exhibition and project.’ —[O]

Main image: Hoor Al Qasami, 2023. Courtesy Aichi Triennale. Photo: Sebastian Böettcher.