Sheikha Hoor Aichi Triennale role is historic, as she becomes the first non-Japanese artistic director of Japan’s largest international art festival. The Emirati curator and president of Sharjah Art Foundation is placing Palestine at the centre of her vision, showing how art can be a tool of solidarity and resistance.
The 2025 festival theme, A Time Between Ashes and Roses, is inspired by the poetry of Adonis. Sheikha Hoor explained that the title has long been tied to Palestine for her, and in the current context of the Israel-Gaza conflict, it carries even deeper meaning. She insists she will never change her political stance, making her art direction both personal and political.
At the festival’s opening in Nagoya, she spoke of the Naksa of 1967 and the suffering of Palestinians today, calling it “genocide and ethnic cleansing.” She told the audience: “None of us will be free until all of us are free — free Palestine.”
Palestinian artists remain central to the program despite visa hurdles for some participants. Performances by Basel Abbas, Ruanne Abou-Rahme and Baraari connected Palestinian creativity with Japan’s vibrant youth culture. Sheikha Hoor Aichi Triennale role also highlighted Emirati artists, including Mohammed Kazem, Afra Al Dhaheri and Shaikha Al Mazrou, showing the UAE’s diverse art scene.
Her collaborative approach with Japanese curators and civic leaders has made the festival a cultural bridge between the Middle East and Asia. Looking forward, Sheikha Hoor will carry this ethos into the Biennale of Sydney 2026, continuing her mission to amplify marginalized voices and strengthen the role of the Global South in global art.
