Sharjah Art Foundation will present La Suite, a five-hour performance by acclaimed Lebanese sound artist Tarek Atoui to launch Serpentine Gallery’s three-day Memory Marathon. In the presence of Sharjah Art Foundation President and Director Hoor Al-Qasimi, and HE Abdulrahman Ghanem Almutaiwee, UAE Ambassador to the UK, this performance will be held at Serpentine Gallery Memory Marathon Dome on 12 October, 2012 at 6pm. This performance is made possible with the generous support of Badr Jafar.

In this work, Atoui explores 'Tarab' both as a traditional form of music and an Arabic word to describe the emotional effect music has on the listener. Atoui’s approach to engaging with 'Tarab' involves inviting sound artists with different musical practices, styles and backgrounds to create a dialogue with the collection of Kamal Kassar’s AMAR Foundation, which houses the largest library of Tarab and classical Arab music in the world. From diverse genres such as pop, hip hop, electronica, improvisation and noise art, Atoui looks for artists distinguished by their unique performance styles and experimentation with sound techniques, and asks them to utilise Kassar’s library as a body of sound material from which to imagine and design live acts and performances.

The musicians participating in La Suite include, Uriel Barthélémi, John Butcher, Mira Calix, Susie Ibarra, Hassan Khan, Kazuyuki Kishino, Lukas Ligeti, Robert Lowe, Ikue Mori, Sara Parkins, Zeena Parkins, Ghassan Sahhab, Sam Shalabi.

Atoui has long been captivated by the improvisation inherent in this deeply evocative music, which binds the audience to the performer. 'Tarab' sessions are known to last for hours, facilitating a musically-induced state of ecstasy. As Atoui explains, "Tarab is not a music genre but a state of melotrance that you reach after being exposed to music for a certain amount of time".

Tickets £10/8 available from the Serpentine Gallery Lobby Desk (020 7402 6075), or www.ticketweb.co.uk