Between Vision and Expression: Decolonising Sensation, Taste and Meaning

Ages 17+

"يقول النفري: "كلما اتسعت الرؤية ضاقت العبارة 

[(Sufi mystic) Al Niffari states, ‘As vision expands, expression narrows.’]

Can a musical piece be colonial? What are possible political notions around sound? 
What forms of violence might a building inflict upon us?
Do we solely own our aesthetic tastes?
What concepts and stories are associated with straight lines? Could these ideas potentially silence certain points of view?
Can the way we see an artwork change it?

Revolving around the questions above, this three-day course considers the residual impact of colonial powers on various art genres and attempts to dismantle their influence. Participants will investigate a range of artworks in order to construct a new gaze, one that will enable them, within their specific geographical and historical contexts, to develop a personal understanding and appreciation of art. Because the world appears different according to where people are positioned, how can they make sense of and expand upon this positionality? How can they develop a methodology to experience art, and how would this methodology change the way they perceive the world?

The course is structured along two distinct tracks. The first focuses on theory and inquiry, laying the groundwork for decolonial studies and anti-colonial critique. The more analytical second track engages with a wide range of artistic representations and subjects, from photography and sculpture to film, architecture, design, music and performance.

As participants analyse paths of aesthetic appeal, cognitive approaches and even disagreeable or uncanny phenomena in art, they will examine the historical and epistemic evolution of these concepts as well as the historicity of their structural frameworks and their limits, transitional states and effects. Participants will also explore the artistic practices and knowledge heritage of colonialism, looking at how cultural hybridity, liminality and border thinking can serve as tools for decolonising their gaze, taste and knowledge.

Offered in Arabic, this session is free, and all materials are provided by Sharjah Art Foundation.

Course Instructor: Abdalla Bayyari 

Originally a student of dentistry, Abdalla Bayyari is currently an academic and researcher at the Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut. He is also a writer, translator, art practitioner, curator and lecturer at the Built-Environment Institute for Applied Studies–Africa and Middle East, Cairo, and serves as a pedagogical consultant at the Ahliyyah & Mutran School, Amman, where he contributes to designing the International Baccalaureate course in decolonial studies. He lectures at several universities, and his writings have been published on multiple websites and platforms as well as in academic journals.

The Foundation is committed to making its programmes inclusive and accessible. You will find disability access symbols indicating accessibility for all sessions on the registration form. Kindly contact us in advance to arrange for any support needed.

For more information, email learning@sharjahart.org or call 065685050.
 

Registration for this course has closed.