Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi has been appointed President of Sharjah Museums Authority under an Emiri Decree issued on 7 July by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Sharjah. The appointment places one of the Gulf’s most internationally prominent cultural figures at the head of the emirate’s museums network.
The announcement, carried by official channels on 7 July and by Sharjah Art Foundation the following day, said the appointment builds on Sheikha Hoor’s leadership roles across several cultural and academic institutions in Sharjah, including the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, The Africa Institute, Global Studies University and the University of the Arts Sharjah. The authority she now leads oversees museums across the emirate spanning art, heritage, archaeology, science and Islamic civilisation.
Sheikha Hoor is President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, which she founded in 2009, and has served as Director of the Sharjah Biennial since 2003. She has curated major international exhibitions and biennials, most recently serving as Artistic Director of the Aichi Triennale 2025 and the Biennale of Sydney 2026. In 2025 she received the insignia of Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, conferred by the Embassy of France in the UAE, and she currently serves as ALECSO’s Ambassador Extraordinary for Arab Culture for the 2025 to 2026 term. The Foundation she leads also organises the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists, alongside grants, residencies, commissions and travelling exhibitions that have made Sharjah a fixture on the international contemporary art calendar.
Sharjah Museums Authority sits at the centre of the emirate’s cultural infrastructure. Sharjah, the third largest of the seven United Arab Emirates and the only one bridging the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is home to more than 20 museums and has long been regarded as the cultural hub of the country. The emirate was named UNESCO’s Arab Capital of Culture for 1998 and UNESCO World Book Capital for 2019, reflecting a decades-long commitment to the arts, architectural preservation and cultural education under its ruler.
The appointment consolidates Sharjah’s cultural institutions under leadership with deep international curatorial credibility. It is reasonable to infer that the museums portfolio, historically focused on heritage and civilisation, may draw closer to the contemporary art networks Sheikha Hoor has built through Sharjah Art Foundation and the Biennial, and gain a stronger global programming dimension. No structural changes have been announced, and any such direction remains to be confirmed by the authority.
