President,
Global Studies University, Sharjah, UAE
Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Global Studies University (GSU), has played a central role in the development of the university since its founding. She served as Director of The Africa Institute in 2018, guiding its initial programs and shaping its academic vision. In her dual leadership roles, she oversees the university’s strategic direction, academic programs, and institutional governance, strengthening GSU’s position as a hub for interdisciplinary research and global scholarship.
Al Qasimi is also President and Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, the independent public arts organization she established in 2009 as a catalyst and advocate for the arts in Sharjah, the UAE, and internationally. She co-curated Sharjah Biennial 6 (2003) and Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present (2023). In addition, she serves as President and Director of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, which inaugurated its first edition in November 2019, and in 2024 was appointed to head the Sharjah Creative Quarter (SCQ). In December 2025, she assumed the presidency of the University of the Art Sharjah.
Al Qasimi’s contributions to the arts have been recognized internationally. She was named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Embassy of France in the UAE (2025) and was included in ArtReview magazine’s 2024 Power 100 as the most influential figure in contemporary art, acknowledging her leadership and impact across the global cultural and creative sectors.
She has participated in a range of international boards and advisory bodies, including Kunst-Werke Berlin e. V., Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, and the Advisory Board of the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Sharjah. She has served on juries and committees for international prizes and institutions, including MoMA PS1, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, the Prince Claus Award Committee, MAXXI Bulgari Prize, and the Future Generation Art Prize.
Al Qasimi holds an MA in curating contemporary art from the Royal College of Art, London (2008). She earned a diploma in painting from the Royal Academy of Arts, London (2005), and received a BFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London (2002). She also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK (2023).
