The Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) has invited illustrators and comic artists from the GCC to submit pitches for their annual comic anthology titled Corniche. The deadline for submitting pitches is 30th June, 2026.
Aiming to broaden and diversify the creative scope of the eighth edition of Corniche, selected artists will be invited for a three-day creative exchange in Sharjah. The ensuing comics will be compiled into a publication that follows an exploratory, free-flowing approach, enabling a range of genres to co-exist, from biography and art history to science fiction, fantasy and mythology.
Corniche was born out of a three-day comic-making workshop held in 2019, when the participating artists decided to compile their final comics into an anthology, titling it after the Sharjah Corniche overlooking the workshop space. It has since grown into a community-centred project, a crucial platform for local illustrators to meet, experiment and publish, and one of the Foundation’s core initiatives.
Corniche 8 will launch at Focal Point 2026, the annual art book fair.
About Focal Point
Focal Point is an annual art book fair showcasing independent bookmaking from the region and around the world. Audiences will find a compelling selection of printed material by artists’ presses, bookmakers, self-publishers and non-commercial cultural producers. As part of its commitment to expanding and experimenting with the medium of publishing, Focal Point includes talks, book launches, artists’ signings, workshops, music and artist-made products.
An initiative of Sharjah Art Foundation, Focal Point spotlights UAE-based publishers and functions as a critical space for knowledge sharing and community building. The fair is held annually at Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, a heritage site within Sharjah’s historical quarter.
Who Can Apply and How?
Any GCC-based illustrator and/or comic artist, aged 18 and older, can submit an application. Head to the Sharjah Art Foundation website for more details and submission point –
As part of their comic pitch, artists will need to submit their art portfolio, story synopsis, rough storyboard, and rough sketch of one page. The comic idea or theme could be personal or fictional but should be mindful of the UAE’s cultural sensitivities regarding religion, politics and explicit content.
The submission can be in Arabic or English. However, relying on AI for image generation in either the proposal or final comic will risk disqualifying your submission.
Project Timeline
After receiving the acceptance notification, the artist will have a over a month to complete and finalise the submission. The final submissions must be made by 15th September, 2026.
Please refer to the official Sharjah Art Foundation for more details.
