First public space for photography in UAE inaugurated with two shows

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated and toured the Photography Gallery, the first public space in the UAE dedicated to the art of photography, on November 8.

- Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The new venue, housed in a restored former telecommunications building in the Al Manakh district near Kuwait Square, presents two exhibitions: Photographic Encounters along the Gulf Coasts and Image Keepers, both organised by Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF). Photographic Encounters along the Gulf Coasts, comprising 165 photographs and archival documents from the collection of His Highness, features late nineteenth and early twentieth-century glass slides depicting people, places and activities along the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean littorals, revealing the region as a vital nexus of trade, culture and human connection. The images speak of power, class, gender and ethnicity, indicating the prevailing cultural attitudes of the time.

They thus carry history through not only the subjects portrayed, but also foregrounds photography as a medium. The glass slides on which the images were reproduced, as well as the magic lantern, considered a predecessor to modern slide projectors, offer insights into photographic innovations of the period. “As the Foundation’s archival research endeavour continues,” says SAF, “the photographs in this exhibition will help situate historical narratives of the Arabian Gulf region, shining a light on colonial and postcolonial modes of knowledge production and dissemination.”