Projects
Dreaming the City
Sharjah
2025-2027
A participatory project for the Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2026-27 that brings out conversations on belonging, home and one's relationship to the city of Sharjah
Sharjah Architecture Triennial participates in international conversations about architecture that have a resonance at local and regional levels, and reflects on the Gulf's shared social, economic, and cultural ties with a wider region extending from West Asia to South Asia and the African continent. Curated by anthropologist-curator Vyjayanthi Rao, with Associate Curator Tau Tavengwa, SAT03 brings together 32 participants whose practices span architecture, anthropology, urbanism, art, design, education and community initiatives.
‘Dreaming the City’ is our participatory project at the Triennial that explores how people imagine, inhabit & relate to Sharjah through the lens of belonging, access & inclusion. Over May and June, we talked to the people of Sharjah across parks, malls, markets & other everyday public spaces to listen to their stories, hopes & aspirations for the city through simple, pop-up tools and props for participation. These conversations are now evolving into an interactive space for the Triennial that invites visitors to not only share their ideas but possible futures for the city.
Conversations with people in streets and public spaces has always been a natural and essential part of the way we work. In the current geo-political climate, these conversations became all the more important as we all try to make sense of the world around us, and its impact on our daily lives.
You can find here some photos of what our on-ground conversations looked like in outdoor public spaces of the city - its parks and streets - to Sharjah's indoor public spaces - its malls and markets. “Making” became an important part of our conversations - to imagine together with the people of Sharjah what kind of public spaces they want to see and create. Through simple playful tools of engagement such as cards, maps, stickers & postcards with a lightweight set-up that could be easily carried around, people shared their desires and opinions on how they would like to shape the city.
A run up to the Sharjah Architecture Triennial to be held from 14 November 2026 to 14 April 2027, these public interactions held over May and June focused on city-making, public spaces & place-making in Sharjah. We look forward to sharing more as the project unfolds in the comming months.
Concept Note:
Dreaming the City is a participatory, process-led project that explores how diverse communities in Sharjah imagine, inhabit, and reconfigure public space. The project aims to bring out conversations on belonging, home, and one's relationship to the city of Sharjah from the lens of access and inclusion. Moving beyond the concept of Right to the City into the speculative, the project asks a more open-ended question: what does it mean to dream the city - especially for those whose presence is essential within its urban fabric, yet who might not be able to directly shape its spatial and civic narratives. Through a series of on-ground engagements in everyday public spaces - markets, malls, parks, transit points - the project invites residents of Sharjah to share their spatial experiences or even desires.
At the core of the engagement is a simple provocation: If Sharjah had one space built for you, what would it have? Designed as lightweight and adaptable formats in the months preceding the Triennial, these ongoing engagements aim to evoke immediate, spontaneous responses from passers-by, allowing a range of voices and perceptions to surface. During the Triennial months, an interactive installation at Sharjah's old vegetable market will function as the primary site of encounter of a multi-site interactive project that will continue to invite public participation.
The Team
Swati Janu
Leah Roy Shireen
Partners
