Last year, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, topped Art Review’s Power 100 list of the most influential people in the contemporary art world. Does it matter? A brutally honest list would have put art dealer, Larry Gagosian, in the Number One slot, with gallerists such David Zwirner and Jay Jopling, close behind. The contemporary artworld clings to the fiction that it’s not simply about money - it’s about social justice, decolonising the museum, saving the planet, giving a voice to the voiceless, making room for a spiritual dimension amid the ravages of capitalism.
All these topics have been explored by Al Qasimi in her role as the Head of the Sharjah Art Foundation and Biennial. She has also helmed a succession of large international surveys, including the Lahore Biennale of 2020, and now, the Sixth Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, one of the most important contemporary art exhibitions in Asia. Next year, she will act as director of the 25th Biennale of Sydney.
For Al Qasimi (b.1980), power and controversy are closely connected. As the daughter of the Emir of Sharjah, Sultan Muhammed Al Qasimi, she enjoys a creative freedom few citizens in the Emirates can match. In a state with a dubious human rights record, where the Emir’s word is law, Princess Hoor organises exhibitions with striking social justice themes.