JEDARIART: Meet the Artists – Part One

In late 2020 and early 2021 vibrant colours emerged as beacons of energy into urban environments across Qatar. With splashes of colour against previously plain walls, 18 artists contributed to the creation of JEDARIART, resulting in murals that captured imaginations and remained with residents long after they saw them. So, what was it all about?

Initiated by the Public Art department from Qatar Museums – and delivered in partnership with Ashghal, Qatar Rail and Woqod –JEDARIART’s purpose was to activate urban spaces in Doha and create beauty, colour and vigour across the walls of the capital.

The programme – recently announced to be returning for a second round of open calls – seeks to encourage artists to take their murals beyond the walls, enabling a dialogue; a portal of sorts, meditating between the artist’s consciousness and the viewer.

In total, 15 of the first cohort were Qatari citizens, while all 18 were residents of the country. In terms of experience and profile, in keeping with the ethos of the programme, they ranged from beginners to high-level expertise. All were invited to demonstrate their artistic expression freely.

In the first of a two-part series, earlier in 2021 we meet the artists to understand their inspiration and get a glimpse of what their art means to them, in their own words. Here's what they had to say.

Nada Khozestani

Nada Khozestani is a Qatari artist who graduated from marketing in the school of business at Qatar University. Nada has had a deep love and fascination for Qatari culture, deriving her inspiration from the various elements seen in nature to the vast range of saturated colours seen from day-to-day life in Qatar. For her latest mural Ladies in Batoola, located in the Fire Station: Artist in Residence, Nada chose to depict five abstract figures of women wearing the Qatari cultural clothes known as the Abaya and Batoola.

Noura Al-Mansoori

Noura Al-Mansoori is a Qatari artist who uses surrealist aspects with the addition of mixed media and materials in her work. Her two murals located in the Fire Station: Artist in Residence entitled Shroomy Ladybug and The Cool Dove demonstrate minimal elements of nature that one tends to ignore or takes for granted. Noura’s work tends to take interests in subjects that push the boundaries of what is considered “normative” in Qatar.

Abdulla Al-Emadi

Abdulla Al-Emadi is a Qatari self-taught artist who draws his inspiration from manuscript illustrations, mythologies, and various surrealist movements. His mural Limbo is located in Al-Abraj park depicting a figure that seems to be trapped inside a box. Throughout the mural, Abdulla incorporates a warm blue colour palette, while adding splashes of vibrant colours to depict symbolic imagery as a way to enhance surrealist tension. Deriving his inspiration from COVID-19 pandemic, he wished to project his emotion and mental state during that time.

Haifa Al-Khuzaei

Haifa Al-Khuzaei is a Qatari artist whose contribution to JEDARIART consists of a depiction of two animals caught in a fleeting moment, a horse and an eagle set upon a turquoise lined background. Both animals symbolically and metaphorically represent the force and power of Qatar during and after the Gulf blockade that occurred in 2017. The burgundy horse symbolically represents strength in moving forward, while the white falcon suggests how Qatar is soaring high, both colours representing Qatar's flag.

Maryam Al-Maadhadi

Maryam Al-Maadhadi is a Qatari artist whose contribution in JEDARIART consists of a mural entitled We Feel Safe in Qatar, drawing inspiration from the culture and nature of Qatar. Her work represents a series of post stamps, such as one including Qatari figures, both men and women on adjoining side and front profiles. An arch connects the two sides of the stamp, suggesting a harmony and peace, living inside a utopian bubble. Located in the Post Office Park, the mural plays an even more significant dialogue to its location.

Fatima Al-Sharshani

Fatima Al-Sharshani is a Qatari calligrapher who has been honing her artistic penmanship for the past several years. Her work for JEDARIART depicts a roundel golden circle with the inclusion of Arabic calligraphy taken from the poetry of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al-Thani, founder of Qatar. Using the colour gold as to represent Al Noor (brightness), the mural is set in a highly significant place in the Post Office Park, creating a dialogue for the main headquarters of the Post Office in Qatar, and the works embodiment of a seal-like envelope stamp.

Mubarak Al-Malik

Mubarak Al-Malik is a Qatari artist who has participated and represented his country in many internal and external events. Although some of Mubarak's other work ascertain certain political elements, his work located in Al-Abraj park is purely made for the sense of enjoyment due to its playful colours and cultural subject matter. His work depicts a Qatari woman wearing a batoola, while holding a mubkhar, a traditional Arabian style incense burner; smoke billowing out of it as to welcome guests. Red roses are embedded throughout the work, swifting alongside the smoke, symbolising love. A similar style noir mural of his work could also be seen in the Fire Station: Artist in Residence.

Abdulaziz Yousef Ahmed

Abdulaziz Yousef Ahmed is an artist who, with 12 years of work experience, has developed his very own distinctive style to represent and share his story with the world. His mural for JEDARIART depicts a woman's semi side profile abaya alongside the traditional batoola mask on her face, emphasising the mundane tasks of a woman within a household such as answering doors and welcoming guests. Although Abdulaziz has been following the cultural theme of Qatar for quite some time, he was inspired to push himself in striving towards minimalism and abstraction within his work.

Michael Perrone (Assisted by: Salma Awad, Teslim Sanni, Amna Al Muftah, Maha Nasr, Alice Aslem, Parthivan K.)

Michael Perrone is an American artist and professor of painting and printmaking at VCUarts Qatar. His work in JEDARIART includes an abstract piece inspired by his home in Vermont from 1906, where he was able to trace lines from broken walls and connect them with one another through his paintbrush. With the pandemic taking a toll and being separated from Qatar, Michael emphasises the use of lines to connect both of his lives, the one in Qatar and the other in Vermont, bridging gaps of what's far and near.

Although my work is interpretive, it is also a piece that is celebratory and joyful, and I really hope people see that. I would like to thank the wonderful VCUarts students who assisted me in this work.