Qatar’s Talent Represented by Wusum Gallery at Abu Dhabi Art

Wusum Gallery concluded its participation in the 16th edition of Abu Dhabi Art, marking a significant milestone as the only art gallery to represent Qatar at the fair.

Held at Manarat Al Saddiyat’s Cultural District from 20 to 24 November, the 16th edition of Abu Dhabi Art brought together over 100 galleries from across the globe. Wusum Gallery presented the work of three Doha-based artists — Hamad AlFayhani (Qatar, b. 1999), Noora Al Hardan (Qatar, b. 1999), and Ameni Abida (Tunisia, b. 1997) — in the Emerge section, which focuses on works priced under USD 3,000 making contemporary art more accessible to new collectors.

Their booth garnered widespread attention for its compelling narrative and innovative artworks that explored the concept of spaces as a lived experience, a memory, and an allocator of belonging.

Visitors were drawn to Hamad AlFayhani’s exploration of the psyche of ‘safe spaces’, Noora Al Hardan’s delicate excavation of neglected spaces, and Ameni Abida’s intimate portrayal of home as an emotional and ephemeral realm.

Together, these artists offered a mediation on spatiality as a multidimensional experience, resonating deeply with audiences.

Wusum Gallery, Gallery Director, Elina Sairanen says, “We are proud to have been part of the Emerge Section and are thankful for the positive feedback our booth received. One of the reasons why Wusum was founded relates to connecting Qatari and Qatar-based artists with the regional scene – our participation at the fair marked a significant first step in this process.”

The Three Talent Showcased

Wusum Gallery’s mission centres on nurturing new talents and contributing to the lasting legacy of early, mid-career, and established artists from Qatar and beyond. The gallery looks forward to building on this momentum with upcoming projects and exhibitions that continue to integrate artists from Qatar into the regional and international art scene.

One of the three artists represented is Hamad AlFayhani, a Qatari visual artist and film maker whose work centres on isolation, illness, and the underlying relationship between beauty and suffering.

A graduate of Northwestern University in Qatar, AlFayhani works across film and photography to survey the emotional landscapes of his personal experiences. AlFayhani’s conceptual framing is rooted in his exploration of parallel realities, where beauty and pain, tradition and modernity, coexist. Through his art, he captures the fragile yet enduring nature of existence – revealing how opposites can resonate in harmony.

Another participant, Noora Al Hardan, a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, printmaking, installation, and photography. A graduate of VCUarts Qatar with a BFA in Painting and Printmaking, Al Hardan explores the relationship between architectural forms and memory in her art.

She is particularly fascinated by light leaks, filters, and distortions, which play a significant role in her photographic process, allowing her to reimagine familiar spaces. Through her lucid compositions, often focusing on abandoned or local sites that hold overlooked resonance. Her work considers the presence of absence, using distortion to shift our perceptions of the ordinary. By doing this, she transforms these  spaces into intimate and monumental spatial experiences, reecting on how we see, remember, and inhabit the built environment.

The third artist is Ameni Abida, a self-taught artist, living and working in Doha. She holds a degree in Culture and Politics from Georgetown University and an MA in Museum and Gallery Practice from University College London. Her upbringing was marked by a series of relocations–each move prompting a reinvention of her environment and, by extension, a do-over for herself.

Her artistic trajectory is deeply personal, echoing her ongoing exploration of new environments and the emotional landscape they kindle. Working across painting, drawing, illustration, and digital media, she seamlessly blends conventional painting techniques with the digital and oftentimes intermixes both in her practice.