The SAF Production Programme grantees are Marwa Arsanios, Elena Artemenko, Ali Cherri, Ahmad Ghossein, Jumana Manna, Zineb Sedira, and Raed Yassin.
The announcement was made on March 13, by Sharjah Art Foundation President and Director Hoor Al-Qasimi at a dinner celebrating the opening of the annual March Meeting (MM 2014) conference and solo exhibitions of artists Wael Shawky, Rasheed Araeen, and Susan Hefuna.

The 2014 recipients of the Production Programme grants were selected by an international jury comprising Tarek Abou El Fetouh, independent curator; Pooja Sood, Director of Khoj International Artists’ Association, and Hoor Al-Qasimi. The jury selected the seven recipients from nearly 300 applications—more than double the number received in previous years—submitted in response to the Foundation’s Open Call for Submissions earlier this year.

Originally launched as part of the Sharjah Biennial in 2008, the Production Programme has become one of the Foundation’s core initiatives and is announced biannually. The Programme offers artists resources and a platform for experimentation and the production of ambitious new projects. Previous SAF Production Programme grantees include Bani Abidi, CAMP, Sean Gullette, Mario Rizzi, and Lindsay Seers.

The seventh annual MM 2014 was a four-day symposium, which included conversations with artists about sustained engagement in Sharjah and the UAE; brainstorming sessions for collective research and analysis; keynote presentations by leading artists, scholars, and curators; and informal conversations. Sharjah Biennial 12 (SB12) curator Eungie Joo considers the MM 2014 an integral part of the upcoming 2015 Biennial, in that it lays the foundation for collaboration and exchange.

Conceived by Sharjah Biennial 12 (SB12) curator Eungie Joo as an integral part of the Biennial—opening in March 2015—MM 2014 set a tone of collaboration and exchange for the coming year.

Image: Ali Cherri, “The Disquiet” (still), 2013. Film. Courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation.