One need only scan the list of participating artists in any of the large-scale exhibitions taking place in the Middle East to comprehend the formidable presence of female artists within a regional art scene that has been drawing international acclaim for years.

From Bahrain to Morocco, women are experimenting with a diversity of artistic mediums and themes, from photography to performance art to politics to urbanism. Many are leaving the confines of the private studio to cultivate spaces that can support the public consumption and collective production of art in the Middle East.

Sharjah might be one of the United Arab Emirates’ more inconspicuous emirates, but it is home to a burgeoning art scene that arguably surpasses those of its more glamorous siblings, largely thanks to Sheikha Hoor al-Qasimi. Named one of the 100 most powerful women in art by the website artnet in 2014, Qasimi is founder and president of the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF).

SAF was established in 2009, taking over the organization of the Sharjah Biennial, inaugurated in 1993. A practicing artist herself, Qasimi transformed the small-scale biennial of traditional, regional art into an international exhibition of contemporary, cutting-edge work, now celebrated as a prominent art world gathering.