Portals in Flux: Artist in Residence 9 is the culminating exhibition of the Fire Station’s ninth Artist-in-Residence programme. Conceived as a “living archive,” the exhibition presents the outcomes of nine months of experimentation, research, and creative development by fifteen artists currently based in Qatar. Curated by Saida Alkhulaifi, the show is on display at the Fire Station until 31 December 2025.
The exhibition reveals the processes, transitions, and shifts that define artistic practice, inviting visitors to move through the gallery as though navigating a series of thresholds. Each artwork functions like a portal: it opens onto different emotional, spatial, or temporal states. Together they form a constellation of perspectives that blur the boundaries between material reality and inner, imagined worlds.
The participating artists represent a cross-section of backgrounds and disciplines. This year’s cohort includes:
– Syrian architect, researcher, and urban and XR designer Alaa Albarazy;
– French artist, archaeologist, and curator Alexandrine Guerin;
– Indian artist Surabhi Gaikwad;
– Sudanese artist and photographer Khalid Alarabi;
– Sudanese graphic designer, artist, and educator Reham Mohamed;
– Jordanian designer and artist Naima Al Majdobah;
– Canadian artist and educator John Venditti;
– Pakistani-Iranian graphic designer Fae Siddiqui;
– Colombian artist Natalia Mejia;
– Egyptian interdisciplinary research designer Nada Elkharashi.
The featured artists also include Qatari creatives Salha Al Subaiei, Reem Al Shamari, Sara Al Naimi, Galyiah Al Mohannadi, and Lolwa al Meghaiseeb.
Their practices, which span installation, material exploration, sound, drawing, photography, and conceptual investigation, reflect the diversity that characterises the residency. Some artists draw inspiration from desert landscapes, natural cycles, or geological textures. Others look toward domestic rituals, memory, or intimate everyday gestures, while several explore cosmic imagery, metaphysical ideas, or imagined spaces that stretch beyond the visible world.
In this setting, Portals in Flux becomes an invitation to shift perception. Works referencing sand, plants, colour, light, or found materials sit alongside pieces that explore personal archives, cultural heritage, or speculative narratives. The effect is immersive and multisensory. Viewers are encouraged to experience movement between states of mind, between layers of memory, between the familiar and the unknown.
The exhibition also reflects the mission of the Fire Station residency: to support emerging and mid-career artists through mentorship, studio access, and curatorial guidance, offering them space to take risks and expand their practices.
Ultimately, Portals in Flux is less a static display than an evolving journey. It captures the momentum of fifteen creative voices in transition, each negotiating the fluid spaces between identity, place, and imagination. Through their combined work, the exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to step through these portals into new perspectives, renewed sensibilities, and the ever-changing flux of artistic exploration.
To get more information about Portals in Flux: Shadows, please go to the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you might be interested in viewing the Improvisations group show and Art Here 2025: Shadows.
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