Artist in Residence Exhibition Brings 15 Creatives Together

From the earthen to the ephemeral, from the echoes of heritage to the intimacy of home spaces, the installations at the Fire Station’s ninth Artist in Residence Exhibition (AIR) are portals that invite visitors to view the world anew. By Mary Joseph

Qatar Museums’ Fire Station gallery is hosting “Portals in Flux”, an exhibition that showcases the creative research of participants who took part in the ninth edition of the gallery’s renowned Artist in Residence programme. The exhibition runs from October 28 to December 31, 2025.

In line with theme of the exhibition, the artists conceptualised their artworks as portals, as openings that offer visitors access to another state of being or seeing, and by doing so, to other dimensions of interpretations.

The artists who took part in the ninth edition of the residency are Alaa Albarazy (Syria), Alexandrine Guerin (France), Salha Al Subaiei (Qatar), Reem Al Shamari (Qatar), Sara Al Naimi (Qatar), Surabhi Gaikwad (India), Galyiah Al Mohannadi (Qatar), Lolwa al Meghaiseeb (Qatar), Khalid Alarabi (Sudan), Reham Mohamed (Sudan), Naima Al Majdobah (Jordan), John Vendetti (Canada), Fae Siddiqui (Pakistan), Natalia Mejia (Colombia), and Nada Elkharashi (Egypt).

During the nine-month residency, participants typically explore unfamiliar materials, production techniques, and conceptual directions. The resulting pieces are often surprising and thought-provoking, beckoning visitors with a refreshed understanding of the world and events around them.

This year’s line-up was no different. Collectively, the ninth edition showcases a variety of media that explore themes such as the desert, cosmos, daily rituals, or intimate home spaces.

The Moon Jar

French Artist Alexandrine Guerin’s installation, titled “Reinterpretation of the Moon Jar”, consists of a clay centerpiece surrounded by translucent panels made using organic dyes, pigments and locally woven cloth, all sourced from Qatar.

Alexandrine ’s artwork owes its origins to the desert. Literally. With the help of friends, locals, residents and Bedouins, she drove around the interiors of Qatar to identify and dig up the best type of clay. She shaped the clay into the center piece of her installation, a moon jar, an iconic piece of Korean porcelain renowned for its delicate aesthetics and fine texture. Wanting to keep the entire production process as connected to Qatar as possible, Guerin created an underground kiln right in the desert, to bake the clay jar.

Alexandrine says it is a privilege to work so closely with, and in, nature. She says, “Working with clay is like collaborating with Mother Nature. It involves understanding and respect. When I work with clay, especially in the environment it is sourced from, I try to stay true to the material I am working with.”

She continues, “This is my first exhibition at the Fire Station and I’m delighted I could honour all that this country has to offer in terms of natural colors and materials.”

An Ode to Bougainvilla

Meanwhile, Nada El Kharashi’s installation, titled “Unheld”, appears as a floating ode to one of Nature’s creations that, for all its translucent tissue-like quality, retains its colour and texture long after it sheds life, the humble bougainvillea.

In her installation, hundreds of coarse pulp mesh rectangles in hues of subtle pink, mauve, light rose and rusty pink-brown hover overhead. Each rectangle was hand-pressed by Nada, stained in dyes made from bougainvillea flowers, and dried. The rectangles were then suspended by threads to form a pink-hued canopy resembling a thick cluster of bougainvillea cascading down a garden wall. On the floor, strewn bougainvillea flowers and an aromatiser complement the canopy with a freshly-fallen-feel.

Nada says, “Bougainvillea plants are a common sight in Qatar. It is remarkable how nature has created them to be fragile in appearance, yet resilient enough to withstand the desert’s summer, providing a pop of color and shade. I wanted this installation to highlight nature’s perfect plan of creation, and its place in Doha’s neighborhoods, by capturing these traits of bougainvillea flowers.”

She continues, “The installation is an invitation to rethink the ordinary and the everyday. For instance, when you stand or move beneath the canopy, you’ll notice dapples of light emanating between the swaying rectangles, much like the rays that fall on your face when you stand under a cluster of bougainvillea rustling in the breeze.”

The exhibition is curated by Saida Alkhulaifi. Alkhulaifi says, “We are delighted to present the culmination of nine months of research and experimentation by this talented group of artists. The exhibition will provide visitors a multitude of perspectives on movement, transformation, and the crossing of thresholds, expressed through diverse media such as sound, material, and visual installations that draw on the unique perspective of each of these emerging artists.”

A Residency for Creatives

Fire Station’s Artist in Residency programme is designed to foster and promote creatives based in Qatar. Through the program, emerging and mid-career artists who reside in Qatar are offered a transformative platform to sharpen their creative skills through expert mentorship, production support, and curatorial guidance. Artists also receive access to studio space and fabrication facilities to foster talent development.

The programme achieved remarkable success, extending its influence to include a three-month residency at the esteemed Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and Studio 209 NY, a part of the renowned International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City.

Portals in Flux is part of Evolution Nation, an 18-month campaign honouring Qatar’s cultural journey over the past 50 years, since the founding of the National Museum of Qatar.

Years of Culture continues to platform the talented artists, designers and innovators from the MENASA region, a push launched during the Qatar-MENASA 2022 Year of Culture, with profiles of Artist in Residence programme of nine participants.

 

All Images Courtesy Qatar Museums and Aadhil Nadeer