Sharjah Art Foundation has announced that their 2012 Production Programme is now open for submissions from artists working in a range of media, including sculpture, installation, time-based media, artist’s books and performance. The Production Programme offers up to a total of $200,000 in grants for the 2012 application cycle, with the aim of encouraging innovative and ambitious projects and to provide artists with a platform for experimentation.

Sharjah Art Foundation launched the Production Programme as one of its core initiatives in 2010 in order to broaden the possibilities for the production of art in the MENASA region. The past decade has seen an extraordinary rise in artistic activity throughout the Middle East, resulting in an increased visibility for artists both regionally and internationally. Within this context, the Foundation introduced the Production grants to encourage an environment of public and private patronage for the highest level of artistic endeavour.

Last year recipients of 2010 Sharjah Art Foundation open call production funding were Bani Abidi and CAMP, whose SAF commissioned projects will be first premiered at Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany from June 2012.

Sharjah Art Foundation President Sheikha Hoor Al-Qasimi stated, “The support of artists and art production is one of the most important missions of the Sharjah Art Foundation. We hope this initiative will contribute to the cultural landscape by providing opportunities for artists both locally and internationally. We look forward to receiving proposals from artists around the world and to working with those selected.”

The deadline for submission of applications is 24 February 2012 and selections will be announced in March. The selected projects will be developed and produced by the artist and Sharjah Art Foundation. For further information and applications please visit the www.sharjahart.org or contact productionprogramme@sharjahart.org