FROM LEFT: Johnatan Machado, Sarah Jayyousi, Amna Al Muftah and Hemanth Madupu.
Open Studios saw artists in residence at Fire Station Doha display their work. The Open Studios featured music, traditional weavings, painting, and sculptures that dealt with themes of environment, culture, self-expression, and other topics.
This year, seventeen artists are participating in the edition. This is an annual residency programme that runs for nine months from September through June. Artists are granted studio space on one of the five floors in the Fire Station building.
Shaikha Al Khulaifi and Noor Al Kuwari are included in the sixth edition of Artists in Residence (AIR 6), as well as Wadha Al Mesalam, Amna Al Muftah, Farah Al Al Sidiky, Maha Al Suleiti, Abdulrahman Al Thani (all hailing from Qatar).
Participants include Ruwad artists Wafika Sultan Al Essa and Hassan Al Mulla from Qatar.
The Peninsula spoke with some of these artists, where they spoke about their art.
Hemanth Madupu explained to us that his current project is about interactive Khaliji Music. Madupu created waves with his partner Abdulrahman al Thani through the music rhythm. The mobile app scans their artwork and plays Khaliji music. Both are multidisciplinary artists and musicians.
Fatima Al Yousef uses a creature as her subject in her artworks. Art is an expressive form. Every creature you see is based upon a person or emotion I know. Everything has a meaning for me, even the shapes.
Each piece of art has a code, which also has meaning that she doesn’t want to reveal. She experimented in many mediums including animation, embroidery, cardboard, and other media.
Johnatan Machado of Venezuela said that his work focuses on traditional materials that are made into contemporary art. Machado has been an artist since 20 years, but his work on traditional Qatari weaves & tapestries began six years ago.
Sheikha al Khulaifi, a multidisciplinary artists, has several art forms on media illustration and portraiture, creativewriting (poetry), but now she’s making her own paper.
She shared that many of her artworks are about being autistic.
Amna al Muftahs paintings are focused on nature. I collect a lot from the desert. I dry them and make compositions. Then I paint them. Because most of the plants I collect have trash, I want to raise awareness about the pollution. Plant Landfill, where plants are filled full of trash on a 121×182 canvas, is her latest painting.
Sarah Jayyousis art talks abstract geometric exploration. She draws inspiration from architecture and paints it on canvas by flattening images.
My art is my voice. I am reserved and quiet. However, my work is bright and shows confidence. Jayyousi said that I want them to be able to appreciate their surroundings and that my art speaks about it. Open Studios are held twice a calendar year at the Fire Station. This is a great chance to meet artists in residence and curators, and see their current projects.