On Writing 2.0: Critical Reflections on the Sharjah Art Foundation Archive introduced 20 students of Africana studies at Carleton College, Minnesota to the field of art criticism through an intersectional, embodied perspective. Spread over three days, the workshop held at The Africa Institute in Sharjah prioritised communal thinking, group work, movement, discursivity and debate geared towards helping students arrive at their unique and specific critical positions in relation to art. 

The workshop began with a set of instructive exercises designed to empower students to investigate their personal subjectivities and situated contexts. We explored the notion of art criticism an indirect form of vocalised address that respects the agencies of the subjects under purview and also examined the multifaceted nature of archives, particularly those that are un-collected or not recorded, that are grounded in orality and are perpetuated trans-generationally. Over the next couple of days, we looked at comprehending the nuances of conventional and unconventional forms of art criticism through collective analysis. We also explored alternative modes of criticism through embodied work, including choreographing group performances based on excerpts from texts. Students were then asked to write a short piece in response to an artwork by an artist from Africa or the African diaspora, that had either been showcased at Sharjah Art Foundation or were part of its archive.  

This zine is the fruit of our collective labours and represents the participants’ first committed attempt at art criticism, and brings together their responses using modes ranging from the poetic to the epistolary. In many instances, participants were not responding directly to artworks, but rather to archival images drawn from their research. We applaud their experimental spirit, their embrace of risk and the searing honesty that marked many of their approaches. 

Rosalyn D’Mello and Jyoti Dhar