The College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) at the University of Sharjah has opened three art galleries within the College's participation in the activities of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival held this year under the slogan "Mada", in the presence of Mohammed Al Qaseer, Director of the Cultural Affairs Department in Sharjah Department of Culture and the Director of the Islamic Arts Festival, along with Prof. Nadia M. AlHasni ,Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Sharjah; Prof. Hussain Mohammad Al Othman, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Science; Prof. Peter Barlow, Director of Sharjah Performing Arts Academy; and faculty and staff members from CFAD as well as a large number of attendees.

In her opening speech, the Dean of the College said that as long as art and design have a place in Islamic civilization, the creative artist has his societal status and place in the world, and that what we are witnessing today in the Emirate of Sharjah is an Islamic cultural and artistic renaissance that in turn works to consolidate the Islamic identity, and this is something of which to be proud. It is a reflection of the pioneering role and the unlimited support of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and President of the University of Sharjah, she added.

The College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Sharjah participated this year with three distinguished art exhibitions, namely: "The Art of Extended Shadows" by Dr. Eman Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, and Dr. Karima Shomali, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts. The exhibition includes umbrellas with Islamic engineering formations, and it aims to leave an extended visual impact of what is distinguished by the geometric pattern by employing optical illusions, so that the geometric shapes of umbrellas appear along an infinite stretch, and they cast shadows on the ground creating a kind of reflection of these Islamic motifs, to confirm and consolidate the idea of what Islamic arts offer from artistic values.

As for the visual heritage, the exhibition "The Wall of Wisdom" is a synthesis of the three-dimensional letters abbreviated, and designed in Kufic engineering line to match the architectural style of the College building, and a number of accents were added to different letters to help read the work, and the work provides a verse of the poet Mahmoud Darwish. The exhibition is by Dr. Shaima Al-Bardawil, Assistant Professor of Visual Communication. The third exhibition came under the title "Range in Textile Modeling" by Dr. Andra Klitan, Assistant Professor of fashion design and textiles, where the exhibition depicts the extent of the coexistence of Islamic culture with international cultures, through different cubes materials, textures and symbols, and the exhibition depicts styles from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe around the Holy Kaaba, the focal destination of Islam. The work highlights the concept of overcoming intercultural barriers and the ability to translate narratives.