Participants from UAE, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, India, Iraq, Palestine, Oman, and Yemen submitted creative works that respond to the IMD current theme of ‘Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion’ and to the global need for creativity during an international health crisis.

The original submissions, which were created specifically for this exhibition, reflect SMA’s and the artists’ belief in the role and power of creativity, art and design in bringing people together during this challenging time. They also communicate the artists’ feelings, views and perceptions of the current situation, namely the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.

Among the digital exhibition’s displays, “A World Crisis” painting, expresses the current state of families during the Covid-19 enforced quarantine and how family members are bonding through their attempts to invest time and to come up with new ideas for entertainment.

“20 Seconds”, a computer-generated graphic design also showcased in the online gallery, was inspired by the world-famous hand-washing guidelines and developed in a one continuous art line with the use of different colours and gestures to signify the importance of committing to instructions by people from diverse cultures.

An artwork tilted “Unite” depicts how the coronavirus has emerged to be an equaliser that shows us we are not very different as humanity with its diverse cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions, is coming together.

Running from May 18 to July 31, the digital exhibition is to mark IMD that has been celebrated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) since 1977 with a different theme every year to highlight museum issues in society with this year’s crucial theme corresponding to a worldwide health crisis.

To view the online exhibition, please visit http://www.sharjahmuseums.ae