‘Past Through Here’ features iconic works

Students from American University of Sharjah (AUS) and the Barjeel Art Foundation have announced the opening of Past Through Here, a new exhibition curated by AUS students and featuring iconic works from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s renowned collection of modern and contemporary Arab art.

The exhibition opened to the public at Maraya Art Centre, in Sharjah, on Feb.1.

The exhibition is the culmination of the semester-long Arts Practicum course focused on curating modern and contemporary Arab art, which was delivered at the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) by Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation and Member of the AUS Board of Trustees, alongside Suheyla Takesh, Director of the Barjeel Art Foundation.

Past Through Here explores the imprints of memory, movement and transformation through modern and contemporary Arab art. It includes paintings, photographs, sculptures and installations that examine how memory is constructed and transformed through lived experience.

“Working on this exhibition offered the students valuable experience that will prepare them, and perhaps give them an advantage, when entering the workforce. It was thanks to AUS’ dynamic learning environment that over a dozen students, not just from CAAD but all over AUS’ different colleges, were able to take part in this practicum and directly engage with Modern Arab art, studying and selecting works, designing the exhibition, and contributing to a publication,” said Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi.

“The exhibition features works that vary in material, form and visual language, yet remain connected through narratives deeply rooted in the region’s social, cultural and historical contexts,” said Mohammed Alnunu, one of the student curators.

“Together, the works explore how memory oscillates between the conscious and subconscious, and how experiences of displacement, aspiration and belonging are carried, reshaped and reimagined across generations.”

For Hend AlShamsi, who worked alongside Alnunu and 10 other students to bring the project to life, the exhibition is as much about how memory is experienced as it is about what is remembered.

“Past Through Here explores the imprints of memory, movement and transformation, tracing not only what we remember, but how we remember,” she said.

“The exhibition asks what we keep, what we let go of, and how we carry the past forward into an uncertain future. The diversity of the Barjeel collection allows these themes to be explored in multiple ways, through personal experience, collective history and different artistic approaches.”