The Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of Hoor Al Qasimi (President and Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation) as the Artistic Director of Aichi Triennale 2025.

Hoor Al Qasimi was selected for the following reasons:

Extensive Experience and Achievements: With a wealth of experience and accomplishments as an international curator, including the renowned Sharjah Biennale, Hoor Al Qasimi is poised to create art festivals of international acclaim.

Global Network: Hoor Al Qasimi possesses a robust global network in the art world. Serving as the president of the International Biennial Association (IBA), she will strengthen Aichi’s presence on the world stage.

Fresh Perspective: As the first foreign Artistic Director of the Aichi Triennale, Hoor Al Qasimi will bring a fresh perspective, ensuring the art festival embraces new and exciting dimensions.

Proficient Organizational Leadership: Having held significant leadership roles as the president of an art foundation, Hoor Al Qasimi demonstrates exceptional skills in effectively guiding and managing organizations.
With these exceptional qualities, Hoor Al Qasimi is poised to lead the Aichi Triennale towards artistic excellence, igniting inspiration and captivating audiences worldwide.

For the selection process, several candidates were recommended by nominators (*1) including individuals associated with the Aichi Triennale. Subsequently, the Aichi Triennale Advisory Board (*2) selected finalists, and the final decision was made by Obayashi Takeo, Chairperson of the Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee (Chairperson of the Board at Obayashi Corporation).

*1 Nominators… Lewis Biggs (Chair, Institute for Public Art.), Daniela Castro (Indepedent Curator / Artist), Rhana Devenport (Director, Art Gallery of South Australia), Martin Germann (Independent Curator / Adjunct Curator, Mori Art Museum), Hou Hanru (Independent Curator), Eungie Joo (Curator of Contemporary Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), Kataoka Mami (Director, Mori Art Museum), Shima Atsuhiko (Director, The National Museum of Art, Osaka) , Jochen Volz (General Director, Pinacoteca de São Paulo)

*2 Advisory Board members… Aoyagi Masanori (Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Tama Art University), Tatehata Akira (University president, Tama Art University), Terauchi Yoko (Contemporary Artist), Ueyama Shinichi (Professor, Faculty of Policy Studies, Keio University), Yamanashi Toshio (Director, Administrative Agency for Osaka City Museums)

Hoor Al Qasimi
[President and Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation] Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, is a curator who established the Foundation in 2009 as a catalyst and advocate for the arts, not only in Sharjah, UAE but also in the region and around the world. With a passion for supporting experimentation and innovation, she has continuously expanded the scope of the Foundation to include major international touring exhibitions; artist and curator residencies in visual art, film, and music; commissions and production grants for emerging artists; publications and publication grants; performance and film festivals; architectural research and restoration; and a wide range of educational programming for all age groups. She co-curated Sharjah Biennial 6 (2003) and has remained Biennial Director since and was curator of Sharjah Biennial 15 (2023). She was also elected as President of the International Biennial Association in 2017, the President of The Africa Institute, and President and Director of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial. Previously, she was a board member for MoMA PS1, New York, and the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, etc.

Press Conference with Hoor Al Qasimi (Artistic Director) and Obayashi Takeo (Chairperson)
Date: Jul 27, Thursday, 2023. Time: 1pm (JPT)
Place: Art Space A, Aichi Arts Center 12F Address: 1-13-2 Higashi-sakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya city, Aichi Prefecture, 461-8525, Japan
*This conference will be broadcasted online and conducted in Japanese. Please note that English will be provided with Japanese consecutive interpretation, while Japanese will not have English interpretation available.