The Ruwad in Residence program supports Qatar-based established artists. It ensures the Fire Station's connection to local artists of different career levels to create an exchange between established and emerging artists. In 2021, Fire Station began running the first edition of its Ruwad in Residence program in support of Qatar-based established artists.
In her latest series, And Then, A Return, artist Fatma Al-Naimi unfolds a visual narrative that moves between moments of control and surrender—between what can be anticipated and what unfolds unexpectedly. The title itself suggests the rhythm of a story: a beginning, a journey through uncertainty, and finally, a return—a reflective ending that carries the weight of transformation.
Through these paintings, Al-Naimi contemplates the cycles of life and emotion, where every disruption finds its quiet resolution. She introduces flowers as recurring motifs, symbols of hope and renewal, delicately embedded within layered compositions. These floral forms emerge as quiet witnesses to resilience—signs of life’s persistence even amid instability—inviting viewers to find beauty in impermanence and strength in vulnerability. In And Then, A Return, the act of painting becomes both a reflection and a reconciliation—a way to find meaning in the return itself.