DAAS – Decolonizing Architecture Art Studies, in Sharjah is an advanced research educational program led by DAAR – Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, open to artists, architects, curators, and cultural producers interested in situating and understanding their practice within a broader theoretical, historical, political, and social context. The program is radically structured around participants’ practices and interests offering a critical space for reflection on questions emerging from practices rooted in context. It serves as a space for convivial collective learning.
The program aims to create fertile ground for cultivating a new field of artistic research in Sharjah by forming a group of practitioner fellows who seek to belong to a community of thinkers open to collective reflection and collaborative thinking. The region, home to many practitioners from the Global South, is rich with unique stories that this program seeks to make space for and intertwine with artistic practices. By merging theory and practice, participants will contribute to building a multitude of narratives that recognize and resonate with one another, embodying the diverse cultural depth of life and work, and connecting stories across different lands, belongings, and experiences.
DAAS in Sharjah is a combined effort between Sharjah Architecture Triennial, Sharjah Art Foundation, and the Africa Institute, Global Studies University, Sharjah. Advisory members include Hoor Al Qasimi, Salah M. Hassan, Walter Mignolo, May Al-Dabbagh, Shahram Khosravi, Zoe Butt and Charles Esche.
The program attempts to create a common ground where diverse narratives and practices coexist. Commons are often understood as spaces where individuals with a dominant shared vision and narrative come together to create a collective environment. However, this program aims to expand that understanding by examining how commoning can serve as fertile ground for diverse stories to grow—stories that enrich one another rather than compete.
The program uses the term ‘decolonization’ as a starting point to critically reflect on contemporary conditions of belonging and exile, displacement and hospitality, migration, and commoning. We understand decolonization as a practice that needs to be contextualized and grounded in a specific embodied position, it requires situating ourselves within a particular place. The notion of decolonization cannot have a single, universally applicable definition or approach. It needs to be understood and implemented in a specific context.
In this program, we will continuously ask “What does it mean to decolonize?” By asking what decolonization means—rather than what it is, we are obliged to address our specific context. It cannot be enough to think of decolonization simply in terms of the symbolic. This always needs to be an active process, and therefore never a destination one can arrive at. The emphasis on questioning, rather than defining, decolonization is an invitation and attempt to decolonize our minds by continuously reflecting on how we interact with and use language and concepts; how we navigate our daily and professional lives; and how we position ourselves in relation to others. This approach makes it clear that decolonization is not just a theoretical concept but a lived, everyday practice. Living in a modern society that has had colonialism at the heart of its foundation means that every one of us is exposed to colonial foundational knowledge that we may never have questioned. The process is inherently transformative, seeking to unearth and challenge the deep-seated colonial influences in our thoughts and practices.
The Arts — we use the plural to take the distance from an understanding of art as a predefined epistemological field — is understood not as a discipline, but rather a unique constitutive space where meanings are created and realities formed. We are interested in an artistic and architectural practice that does not claim a specific disciplinary territory but instead claims the right to exist in its own specificity against all classifications. Needless to say, we see Architecture as part of the Arts, and not as a separate discipline. Architecture in our teaching and research practices is used both as material and immaterial form for thinking and interventions. Architecture in the process of colonization and decolonization plays a crucial role in organizing spatial relations and expressing ideologies, even when it’s abandoned and left in ruins, it is mobilized as evidence of political and cultural claims.
The program emerged from the fertile relationship and tensions between artistic research and pedagogy. Participants are asked to select a site as a source of knowledge and a foundation for their research inquiries and practical work. A site is understood as the anchor for reflection and action, and it can be a physical place like a building or your own living room, or it can be your own body or skin. What is important for the selection of the site is to feel grounded and knowledgeable. Examples for selecting a site can be found at the living room project.
After selecting the site, participants are encouraged to reflect on one or more concepts emerging from the chosen site to ground and test their theories within both the site and their own practice. The participants are invited to cultivate a constant oscillating movement between the tangible constraints of actual sites and to reflect on concepts that open up a critical understanding of the site. As an example, see how from the living room emerged the concept of “hospitality”.
This artistic research-based and pedagogical approach is exemplified in the book “Permanent Temporariness”, where seventeen site-specific research projects are activated by fourteen different concepts: Al Masha/Common, Borders, Camp, Confession, Decolonization, Exile, Heritage, Madafeh/Hospitality, Mujawaara/Neighboring, Participation, Profanation, Representation, Returns, Tawtin/Normalization.
This collective effort to conceptualize artistic practice-based research forms a “Collective Dictionary”, encompassing individual and shared terms that establish the theoretical framework for individual and collaborative actions. This collective dictionary fosters a community where peers share diverse sites and concepts, nurturing each other’s research endeavors.
The program begins by sharing personal experiences, forming alliances, and fostering a communal space for mutual learning. Participants create a safe environment where they can share experiences, take risks, and be vulnerable without fear of exposure. This communal space is designed to allow for the expression of doubts and uncertainties, rather than presenting a series of polished projects and outcomes. They then respond to the program’s focus on connecting sites and concepts, allowing for critical reflection on their practice within social and political contexts. Therefore, the program does not offer a preconceived knowledge but helps participants build their own individual and collective knowledge framework that gives meaning to actions and practices. At the end of the program, participants will be equipped to contextualize their practice within a broader theoretical framework and articulate their practice in public.
The program is conducted primarily in English, though participants’ native languages are emphasized when formalizing concepts. It combines distance education with three in-person sessions scheduled for Winter (February 10th – February, 16th), Spring (April, 21st – April 27th), and Fall (October, 27th – November, 2nd). During these sessions, participants will engage in presentations, site visits, interactions with guests, walks, collective farming activities, and communal cooking. Attendance at all three in-person sessions is mandatory, requiring participants to fully immerse themselves and suspend other activities for the duration of the week-long program. Sessions take place in various locations in Sharjah.
The Winter session focuses on participants sharing the sites selected by their peers. In the Spring session, speakers will present their work and join in seminars and public lectures to enrich discussions. In the Fall session, each participant, either individually or in groups, will be interviewed by Sandi and Alessandro about their site and concept. These interviews will be video recorded to help participants craft their own narrative and contribute to a growing video archive showcasing their work.
Between the in-person sessions, participants will have online one-on-one tutorials and introductions. The program does not follow a predefined curriculum; instead, it is collectively shaped by the participants’ practices and interests, viewing them as the primary source of knowledge. It is designed for individuals and collectives with an established practice or professional experience, whether working independently or within institutions.
Two online introductory sessions about the program’s scope and structure will be held, during which interested participants can ask questions and seek clarification.
● Open Call – September, 24th
● October 5th at 6:00 PM (Sharjah time) online link
● October 12th at 11:00 AM (Sharjah time) online link
Following the collective sessions, optional individual online meetings will be offered on Saturdays in October. Register and learn more.
● Letter of Interest (1 to 3 pages)
● CV and/or Portfolio (maximum 10 pages, no more than 20MB)
Master’s degree in relevant field of study or prior learning (equivalent professional experience). The program encourages applicants who do not hold a formal master’s degree to apply by demonstrating equivalent professional experience. The program aspires to develop an equalitarian and diverse research environment.
All applications should be submitted by email to info@sharjaharchitecture.org with the subject heading ‘DAAS IN SHARJAH’ by midnight (GMT +4) on November 9, 2024.
Enrollment fee of 2500AED (~700$) is to be paid by December 31st.
*NOTE: The program does not provide visas and accommodation.
For more information, visit DAAS website.
DAAS – Decolonizing Architecture Art Studies, in Sharjah is an advanced research educational program led by DAAR – Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, open to artists, architects, curators, and cultural producers interested in situating and understanding their practice within a broader theoretical, historical, political, and social context. The program is radically structured around participants’ practices and interests offering a critical space for reflection on questions emerging from practices rooted in context. It serves as a space for convivial collective learning.
DAAS – Decolonizing Architecture Art Studies, in Sharjah is an advanced research educational program led by DAAR – Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, open to artists, architects, curators, and cultural producers interested in situating and understanding their practice within a broader theoretical, historical, political, and social context. The program is radically structured around participants’ practices and interests offering a critical space for reflection on questions emerging from practices rooted in context. It serves as a space for convivial collective learning.
The program aims to create fertile ground for cultivating a new field of artistic research in Sharjah by forming a group of practitioner fellows who seek to belong to a community of thinkers open to collective reflection and collaborative thinking. The region, home to many practitioners from the Global South, is rich with unique stories that this program seeks to make space for and intertwine with artistic practices. By merging theory and practice, participants will contribute to building a multitude of narratives that recognize and resonate with one another, embodying the diverse cultural depth of life and work, and connecting stories across different lands, belongings, and experiences.
DAAS in Sharjah is a combined effort between Sharjah Architecture Triennial, Sharjah Art Foundation, and the Africa Institute, Global Studies University, Sharjah. Advisory members include Hoor Al Qasimi, Salah M. Hassan, Walter Mignolo, May Al-Dabbagh, Shahram Khosravi, Zoe Butt and Charles Esche.
The program attempts to create a common ground where diverse narratives and practices coexist. Commons are often understood as spaces where individuals with a dominant shared vision and narrative come together to create a collective environment. However, this program aims to expand that understanding by examining how commoning can serve as fertile ground for diverse stories to grow—stories that enrich one another rather than compete.
The program uses the term ‘decolonization’ as a starting point to critically reflect on contemporary conditions of belonging and exile, displacement and hospitality, migration, and commoning. We understand decolonization as a practice that needs to be contextualized and grounded in a specific embodied position, it requires situating ourselves within a particular place. The notion of decolonization cannot have a single, universally applicable definition or approach. It needs to be understood and implemented in a specific context.
In this program, we will continuously ask “What does it mean to decolonize?” By asking what decolonization means—rather than what it is, we are obliged to address our specific context. It cannot be enough to think of decolonization simply in terms of the symbolic. This always needs to be an active process, and therefore never a destination one can arrive at. The emphasis on questioning, rather than defining, decolonization is an invitation and attempt to decolonize our minds by continuously reflecting on how we interact with and use language and concepts; how we navigate our daily and professional lives; and how we position ourselves in relation to others. This approach makes it clear that decolonization is not just a theoretical concept but a lived, everyday practice. Living in a modern society that has had colonialism at the heart of its foundation means that every one of us is exposed to colonial foundational knowledge that we may never have questioned. The process is inherently transformative, seeking to unearth and challenge the deep-seated colonial influences in our thoughts and practices.
The Arts — we use the plural to take the distance from an understanding of art as a predefined epistemological field — is understood not as a discipline, but rather a unique constitutive space where meanings are created and realities formed. We are interested in an artistic and architectural practice that does not claim a specific disciplinary territory but instead claims the right to exist in its own specificity against all classifications. Needless to say, we see Architecture as part of the Arts, and not as a separate discipline. Architecture in our teaching and research practices is used both as material and immaterial form for thinking and interventions. Architecture in the process of colonization and decolonization plays a crucial role in organizing spatial relations and expressing ideologies, even when it’s abandoned and left in ruins, it is mobilized as evidence of political and cultural claims.
The program emerged from the fertile relationship and tensions between artistic research and pedagogy. Participants are asked to select a site as a source of knowledge and a foundation for their research inquiries and practical work. A site is understood as the anchor for reflection and action, and it can be a physical place like a building or your own living room, or it can be your own body or skin. What is important for the selection of the site is to feel grounded and knowledgeable. Examples for selecting a site can be found at the living room project.
After selecting the site, participants are encouraged to reflect on one or more concepts emerging from the chosen site to ground and test their theories within both the site and their own practice. The participants are invited to cultivate a constant oscillating movement between the tangible constraints of actual sites and to reflect on concepts that open up a critical understanding of the site. As an example, see how from the living room emerged the concept of “hospitality”.
This artistic research-based and pedagogical approach is exemplified in the book “Permanent Temporariness”, where seventeen site-specific research projects are activated by fourteen different concepts: Al Masha/Common, Borders, Camp, Confession, Decolonization, Exile, Heritage, Madafeh/Hospitality, Mujawaara/Neighboring, Participation, Profanation, Representation, Returns, Tawtin/Normalization.
This collective effort to conceptualize artistic practice-based research forms a “Collective Dictionary”, encompassing individual and shared terms that establish the theoretical framework for individual and collaborative actions. This collective dictionary fosters a community where peers share diverse sites and concepts, nurturing each other’s research endeavors.
The program begins by sharing personal experiences, forming alliances, and fostering a communal space for mutual learning. Participants create a safe environment where they can share experiences, take risks, and be vulnerable without fear of exposure. This communal space is designed to allow for the expression of doubts and uncertainties, rather than presenting a series of polished projects and outcomes. They then respond to the program’s focus on connecting sites and concepts, allowing for critical reflection on their practice within social and political contexts. Therefore, the program does not offer a preconceived knowledge but helps participants build their own individual and collective knowledge framework that gives meaning to actions and practices. At the end of the program, participants will be equipped to contextualize their practice within a broader theoretical framework and articulate their practice in public.
The program is conducted primarily in English, though participants’ native languages are emphasized when formalizing concepts. It combines distance education with three in-person sessions scheduled for Winter (February 10th – February, 16th), Spring (April, 21st – April 27th), and Fall (October, 27th – November, 2nd). During these sessions, participants will engage in presentations, site visits, interactions with guests, walks, collective farming activities, and communal cooking. Attendance at all three in-person sessions is mandatory, requiring participants to fully immerse themselves and suspend other activities for the duration of the week-long program. Sessions take place in various locations in Sharjah.
The Winter session focuses on participants sharing the sites selected by their peers. In the Spring session, speakers will present their work and join in seminars and public lectures to enrich discussions. In the Fall session, each participant, either individually or in groups, will be interviewed by Sandi and Alessandro about their site and concept. These interviews will be video recorded to help participants craft their own narrative and contribute to a growing video archive showcasing their work.
Between the in-person sessions, participants will have online one-on-one tutorials and introductions. The program does not follow a predefined curriculum; instead, it is collectively shaped by the participants’ practices and interests, viewing them as the primary source of knowledge. It is designed for individuals and collectives with an established practice or professional experience, whether working independently or within institutions.
Two online introductory sessions about the program’s scope and structure will be held, during which interested participants can ask questions and seek clarification.
● Open Call – September, 24th
● October 5th at 6:00 PM (Sharjah time) online link
● October 12th at 11:00 AM (Sharjah time) online link
Following the collective sessions, optional individual online meetings will be offered on Saturdays in October. Register and learn more.
● Letter of Interest (1 to 3 pages)
● CV and/or Portfolio (maximum 10 pages, no more than 20MB)
Master’s degree in relevant field of study or prior learning (equivalent professional experience). The program encourages applicants who do not hold a formal master’s degree to apply by demonstrating equivalent professional experience. The program aspires to develop an equalitarian and diverse research environment.
All applications should be submitted by email to info@sharjaharchitecture.org with the subject heading ‘DAAS IN SHARJAH’ by midnight (GMT +4) on November 9, 2024.
Enrollment fee of 2500AED (~700$) is to be paid by December 31st.
*NOTE: The program does not provide visas and accommodation.
For more information, visit DAAS website.
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