Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is the founder of the Sharjah-based Barjeel Art Foundation. Its mission is to promote art by artists from the Arab world through exhibitions locally and internationally.
Established in 2010 by Al-Qassemi, the Barjeel Art Foundation is a non-profit arts organisation based in Sharjah in the UAE. Initially set up to manage and exhibit Al-Qassemi’s personal collection, its primary focus is on artwork created by Arab artists worldwide. It contributes to the intellectual development of the art scene in the Arab region by building a prominent and publicly accessible art collection in the UAE.
Between 2013 and 2018, the foundation mounted 23 exhibitions in countries including Egypt, UK, Jordan, United States, Kuwait, Singapore, and Iran.
An Emirati commentator on Arab affairs and a member of the Sharjah ruling family, Al-Qassemi is known for his use of social media, Twitter in particular, and was a prominent voice during the events of the Arab Spring. His articles have appeared in major international publications, including The Financial Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Huffington Post and The New York Times.