The Aichi Triennale, one of Japan’s leading international art events, opened its sixth edition to the public on 13 September 2025. Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation—the first non-Japanese Artistic Director in the triennale’s history—the exhibition draws its title, A Time Between Ashes and Roses, from a verse by the Syrian poet Adonis, a leading voice in the contemporary Arab world.
The exhibition proposes a vision of the future that is framed through geological time, rather than through the current national or territorial perspectives, which tend to dictate our understanding of the divide between humanity and its environment.
The triennale brings together 60 artists and collectives from 22 countries and territories whose practices span cultural memory, material experimentation, and popular imagination: Robert Andrew explores suppressed family histories through installations; Priyageetha Dia interweaves Southeast Asian labor histories with speculative tropics and machine logics; Simone Leigh presents her acclaimed ceramic and bronze sculptures in Japan for the first time; Faustin Linyekula debuts a performance rooted in dance, storytelling, and the politics of cultural survival; and Afra Al Dhaheri draws from her upbringing in Abu Dhabi, often blending performance, video, and installation. Other participating Emirati artists include Mohammed Kazem, known for his work in conceptual art and experimental mediums; Maitha Abdalla, whose work spans film, sculpture, painting, and performance; and Shaikha Al Mazrou, who explores themes related to identity and cultural heritage through her multimedia works. Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, an artist now based in the UAE, addresses issues of migration and displacement, weaving in a rich narrative of her Sudanese heritage.
Celebrated manga artist Morohoshi Daijiro will debut a newly commissioned illustration, while Barrack (Furuhata Taiki + Kondo Kanako) transforms the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum into a café-restaurant and exhibition space that fosters exchange between local and international communities. Meanwhile, artist Sasaki Rui will create a site-specific installation in a recently closed public bathhouse in Seto City, reflecting on everyday life and the region’s deep ties to nature and ceramic traditions.
The opening ceremony was graced by Takeo Obayashi, Chairperson of the Aichi Triennale Organising Committee and Hideaki Omura, Governor of Aichi Prefecture, alongside a distinguished group of dignitaries from the UAE, including H.E. Sheikh Salem Bin Khalid Al Qassimi, the UAE Minister of Culture; H.E. Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Government Relations Department; and H.E. Sheikha Nawar Bint Ahmed Al Qassimi, Vice President of the Sharjah Art Foundation.
Also in attendance were H.E. Sheikha Hind Bint Majid Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Design Centre, H.E. Shihab Ahmed Al Faheem, Ambassador of the UAE to Japan and H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Tourism & Commerce Development Authority. Other prominent figures included H.E. Halima Humaid Al Owais, Deputy Chairman of the Consultative Council of Sharjah; H.E. Najla Ahmed Al Midfa, Vice Chairperson of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (SHERAA) and H.E. Aisha Rashid Deemas, Director General of Sharjah Museums Authority.
On view until 30 November 2025, the triennale will host roundtable discussions and artist talks on 14 and 15 September 2025. From 1 to 3 November 2025, ‘Three Special Days for Experiencing the Vibe of Ceramic City of Seto’ will be held, along with the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum’s annual project of firing ceramics in the reproduction of an old kiln.
To learn more information about the exhibition and other events during the Aichi Triennale, visit aichitriennale.jp.
About the Artistic Director
Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, is a curator who established the Foundation in 2009 as a catalyst and advocate for the arts, not only in Sharjah, UAE but also in the region and around the world. With a passion for supporting experimentation and innovation, she has continuously expanded the scope of the Foundation to include major international touring exhibitions; artist and curator residencies in visual art, film, and music; commissions and production grants for emerging artists; publications and publication grants; performance and film festivals; architectural research and restoration; and a wide range of educational programming for all age groups. She co-curated Sharjah Biennial 6 (2003) and has remained Biennial Director since and was curator of Sharjah Biennial 15 (2023). She was also elected as President of the International Biennial Association in 2017, the President of The Africa Institute, and President and Director of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial. Previously, she was a board member for MoMA PS1, New York, and the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, etc.
About Aichi Triennale
Presented every three years since its first edition in 2010, the Aichi Triennale is the preeminent global arts and culture festival in Japan. From its inception, the triennale has welcomed local and international artists, curators and cultural leaders to produce experiences fusing the visual and performing arts, learning components and community. In addition to the prefectural capital Nagoya city, the Aichi Triennale shares the overall region’s historical traditions with the rest of the world across museums, theaters, and various venues by way of an exhibition that highlights and celebrates transcendent contemporary art practices.
From its second edition, the triennale collaborates with different cities throughout Aichi to platform innovative approaches to art-making and performance, integrating and expressing curatorial themes through each region’s distinct historic sites, institutions and environments. At its core, the arts festival finds balance between the global and local communities through its rigorous examination and critical eye on our shared present. Each year, participating artists and collectives continue Aichi Triennale’s founding mission of presenting cutting-edge art that fosters spirited cultural exchange and innovative contributions to contemporary visual and performing arts.
As a complement to its creative programming, the Aichi Triennale also curates learning components organized by a dedicated team to ensure cross-cultural learning and engagement. Extensive educational aspects of each edition connect students of all ages with instructors to meaningfully engage with art through dialogue, material practice and community-building. Serving as a festive moment where art and communities intersect, the triennale generates new possibilities of expression that welcome and challenge the most pressing conversations of our times. As a whole, Aichi Triennale extends beyond the conventional limits of the festival format to honor the shared affinities between artists and viewers alike.
About Aichi Prefecture
Aichi originates from the poet Takechi Kuroto before it was chosen as the emblematic name of the region, a unification of the Owari and Mikawa domains. Between the Pacific Coast and the Mikawa Highlands, Aichi boasts a varied environment known for its agriculture and flower cultivation. Aichi, the third largest metropolitan region in Japan, welcomes visitors to a thriving urban center with a distinct food culture with dishes such as Hitsumabushi and Ogura Toast. Through the 20th and 21st centuries, Aichi has been the center of Japan’s technology and manufacturing industries with companies such as Toyota, Denso, Aisin and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, optimized by its location between Tokyo and Kyoto. Additionally, Aichi Prefecture is the second- largest home of foreign residents in Japan, with a population of over 7,400,000.
Alongside its manufacturing base, the prefecture hosts a number of traditional industries including karakuri puppetry, ceramics, and textiles. Included on UNESCO’s shortlist of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Aichi boasts five “Yama, Hoko and Yatai” float festivals yearly. With its future-facing economy and culture, Aichi prides itself on its continued connections with local traditions and nature. As the heart of Japan, the prefecture represents an exuberant display of culture that shares the best of Japan with the rest of the world.
About Sharjah Art Foundation
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the Emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. The Foundation advances an experimental and wide-ranging programmatic model that supports the production and presentation of contemporary art, preserves and celebrates the distinct culture of the region and encourages a shared understanding of the transformational role of art. The Foundation’s core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; ambitious and experimental commissions and a range of travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.
Established in 2009 to expand programmes beyond the Sharjah Biennial, which launched in 1993, the Foundation is a critical resource for artists and cultural organisations in the Gulf and a conduit for local, regional and international developments in contemporary art. The Foundation’s deep commitment to developing and sustaining the cultural life and heritage of Sharjah is reflected through year-round exhibitions, performances, screenings and educational programmes in the city of Sharjah and across the Emirate, often hosted in historic buildings that have been repurposed as cultural and community centres. A growing collection reflects the Foundation’s support of contemporary artists in the realisation of new work and its recognition of the contributions made by pioneering modern artists from the region and around the world.
Sharjah Art Foundation is a legally independent public body established by Emiri Decree and supported by government funding, grants from national and international nonprofits and cultural organisations, corporate sponsors and individual patrons. Hoor Al Qasimi serves as President and Director. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
About Sharjah
Sharjah is the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates, and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reflecting the deep commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education embraced by its ruler, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Sharjah is home to more than 20 museums and has long been known as the cultural hub of the United Arab Emirates. It was named UNESCO's Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019.
