Simon Sheikh (born 1965) is a freelance curator and critic, currently undertaking doctoral research on the topic of exhibition-making and political imaginaries at the University of Lund, Lund. Connected to this research he recently curated Vectors of the Possible, BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht, 2010; a FORMER WEST Research Exhibition. Sheikh was coordinator of the Critical Studies Program, Malmö Art Academy, Malmö from 2002 to 2009. Prior to that, Sheikh was director of Overgaden – Institute for Contemporary Art in Copenhagen, 1999–2002, and curator at NIFCA, Helsinki, 2003–2004. He was also editor of the magazine Øjeblikket between 1996 and 2000, and a member of the project group GLOBE from 1993–2000. His curatorial work includes exhibitions such as: Capital (It Fails Us Now), UKS, Oslo, 2005 and Kunstihoone, Tallinn, 2006; Circa Berlin, Nikolaj – Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, 2005; and Models of Resistance, Overgaden, Copenhagen, 2000 (with GLOBE). Sheikh’s writings can also be found in such periodicals as Afterall, AnArchitectur, Open, Springerin, and Texte zur Kunst. Recent publications include: Capital (It Fails Us Now) (2006); In the Place of the Public Sphere? (2005); Knut Åsdam (monograph) (2004); and the anthology We are all Normal (with Katya Sander) (2001). A collection of his essays is forthcoming from b_books, Berlin. Sheikh lives and works in Berlin and Copenhagen.
