Sharjah:A panel discussion moderated by Manal Ataya, Director-General of Sharjah Museums Authority (SMA), covered multiple themes around the works of 3 women artists and how they have chosen to represent, contextualize and reflect the female perspective in their own stylistic approaches and choices of subject matter.

The new online art fair called Intersect 21 is launching via Artsy on16 February ‘till 16 March, with 21 galleries from Southern California, the Middle East, and North Africa each presenting 21 works.

The online panel, which was held on February 18, saw the participation of artists Lita Albuquerque represented by Peter Blake Gallery in California, Alia Ali {Galerie SINIYA28} in Marrakech and photographer Rania Mater, {Galerie Tanit} in Beirut. Over the course of a week, the public will be able to visit galleries virtually and participate in several lively discussions through the fairs website, Intersect2021.com

Titled ‘The Cross Cultural Female Gaze’, the conversation discussed underlying themes of gender, identity, class and multiculturalism amongst other key themes highlighted by the diverse artistic approaches and chosen mediums of each of the artists from photography to large scale installations.

“It was an honour to have a conversation with three inspiring women who are creating work that offers deeper and greater female perspectives resulting in a more gender balanced art world. We need to recognize and support female artists who are impacting their communities and the global art discourse with poignant and thought provoking work, ” said Manal Ataya.

Speaking to The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, Becca Hoffman, Head of Intersect Art and Design, said “What I'm really excited about this platform being is an opportunity not just to showcase artwork, but to engage with the global community and to hopefully be a catalyst for thoughtful forward movement.”

The panel is part of a group of online art fairs organized by Intersect Art and Design between 16th through 22nd of February, in collaboration with galleries from California, the Middle East and North Africa.