Maraya Art Centre to explore Sharjah's architectural past, present, and future

Sharjah (WAM): Maraya Art Centre, the innovative contemporary visual arts hub, is to host a three-day excitingly ground-breaking architecture workshop series as of Wednesday, 23rd April. Organised in collaboration with Failed Architecture, an Amsterdam-based research platform which focuses on contemporary urban and architectural conditions, the workshop will examine the historical development, current situation, and possible futures of a series of exceptional buildings from the 70s on Sharjah's centrally located Bank Street. Taking place from the 23rd to the 26th of April, the event is open to students as well as professionals in a vast number of fields: architecture, urbanism, arts, sociology, geography, economics, politics and media. Supported by a publicly accessible programme of lectures, debates and screenings, participants can conduct their own research, using the Failed Architecture methodology, to come to a nuanced understanding of this important and fascinating part of Sharjah's picturesque and unique urban fabric. Partakers of the event will be able to produce a timeline of the development of Sharjah's Bank Street over the past decades and take a glimpse into the future; examining the social, economical and political contexts, and focus on the built-up environment and reputation of the area. There will be guided tours of the abovementioned Bank Street, the Sharjah Art Foundation spaces and neighbourhood, and the rest of the Heart of Sharjah. The program will also include informative talks and presentations by reputed specialists from the Sharjah Heritage Department, as well as by noted professors George Katodrytis and Mona El Mousfy of the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah. In between the presentations, participants will be working side by side with the Failed Architecture founders to put together their findings and propose a new urban plan, building or monument for the area, including the local heritage. The findings and proposals will be documented for a future publication in conclusion to the workshop. Italian artist and Sharjah resident Giuseppe Moscatello, Maraya Art Centre Manager, is also enthused over this original project. "We at Maraya Art Centre are extremely proud to have this opportunity to team up with the inventively artful Failed Architecture initiative - truly a first-rate research podium, all the way from Amsterdam," he said. "It is a remarkable venture to be a part of, and a privilege to introduce the historic and strategic site, the scenic Heart of Sharjah, as a location for its case study." – Emirates News Agency, WAM