Every story starts somewhere, as an idea in a protagonist’s mind, a narrative composed of a series of incidents, or a place like no other.
In this exhibition, artists take the role of the narrator, recalling both shared and personal experiences to communicate ideas fundamental to the modern world. These stories demonstrate how individual, social and cultural dialogues intersect, providing a framework for the exhibition, which explores three main themes: character, spaces and places, and the narratives that inspire creative concepts.
In preparing work for the show, each artist delved into a world of their own, deriving inspiration from a variety of sources, including memories, dreams, daily life encounters, folk tales, nature, cities and architecture. The selected works interact with each other through the exploration of material, form and colour. They are also connected by the artists’ collective experience of living in Qatar and being part of its unique community.
This exhibition features works by 35 artists, emerging and mid-career, who took part in the Artist in Residence programme at the Fire Station in the years 2015–2021. Each piece acts as a metaphor (majaz) for the artist’s journey and evolving artistic practice, capturing a moment or an idea that represents their experience in the past years.
The artists showcasing their work are: Abeer Al-Kuwari, Aisha AlMuhannadi, Alaa Bata, Ameera Al-Aji, Amena Al-Yousef, Fatima Mohammed, Fatma AlNaimi, Guillaume Rouseré, Hadeer Omar, Hassan Manasrah, Haytham Sharrouf, Jesse Payne, Lulu M., Majdulin Nasrallah, Mariah Dekkenga, Maryam Alassiri, Maryam Al Homaid, Maryam Al Maadhadi, Maryam Faraj Al Suwaidi, Mashael Al Hejazi, May Almannai, Michael Perrone, Mohammed Faraj Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Nasser Al-Thani, Muna Al-Bader, Nayla AlMulla, Noor Abuissa, Nourbanu Hijazi, Othman Khunji, Ryan Browning, Sarah Al-Ansari, Sebastian Betancur-Montoya, Shaikha Al-Hardan, Suzana Joumaa, Yasser Al Mulla.
With projects ranging from painting, drawing, prints, sculpture, new media and installations, Majaz: Contemporary Art Qatar shares a thorough exploration of the process of storytelling, both real and imaginary.
