Biography
Holding a doctorate, Omar Kholeif, CF FRSA, combines artistic creation, writing, history and curation in a practice that comes to life through words and exhibitions. Kholeif currently serves as Director of Collections and Senior Curator at the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), Government of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. After initial training in political science, Kholeif began his career in journalism and documentary production in the British broadcasting sector. For 15 years, Kholeif has been dedicated to the “palace of images” that museums represent, as well as to the intersections between art and the public sphere. Focused on the encounter between emerging technologies and the narratives of colonialism, ethnicity and critical race theory, Kholeif’s work addresses the marginalised histories of music and performance, expressions of anxiety and madness, social justice and the aesthetics of digital culture. Kholeif has held teaching and research positions at the following institutions: University of Oxford, University of Chicago, Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) and Hunter College (City University of New York). Among his forthcoming publications are *Internet Art: The First Thirty Years* (Phaidon, 2022) and *Code-Switchers: The Art of Being Invisible* (forthcoming).
