Doha – The Fire Station Artists Headquarters opened the exhibitions “Art for Art’s Sake” and “Eternal Echoes: The Silent Cry of Gaza” in honor of the children of Gaza. The exhibition “Art for Art’s Sake” is organized in collaboration with the Atelier Art Society, curated by. Dirk van Lierop and Alejandra Barelas, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Qatar.
As for “Eternal Echoes: The Silent Cry of Gaza,” it is an exhibition by Al Jazeera journalist and presenter Hayat Al-Yamani, and is accompanied by artistic curation by Saeeda Al-Khulaifi and Fatima Al-Zaini. The inauguration took place in the presence of the Director of the National Library of Qatar, Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Qatar, Ferdinand Lahnstein, and the Ambassador of Austria to Qatar, Erika Bernhard.
Art for art’s sake
The exhibition “Art for Art’s Sake” welcomes 5 eminent artists from around the world: Han Nouwen (from the Netherlands), Youssef Ahmed (from Qatar), Abdel Rahim Salem (from the United Arab Emirates), Jonathan Ardon (from Guatemala) and Annemieke Romijn. (from the Netherlands). The exhibition highlights the importance and significance of fine arts in our lives, explaining their value as a means of expressing human feelings, creativity and spirituality. It emphasizes the role of authentic art as a bridge of communication between different cultures, a reflection of feelings, ideas and actions, and a means of representing society and expressing its culture.
This exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the world, to see things from a different perspective, and the opportunity to inspire themselves and others. It also brings together the complexities and contradictions of the human experience, adding to these. the limitless possibilities of imagination and creativity. It will welcome the public from September 22, 2024 to November 2, 2024.
The Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Qatar, Sir Elias Shirali, said: “The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the State of Qatar is proud to support the upcoming exhibition, ‘Art for Art’s Sake’, which will be held at the Fire Station: Doha’s Beautiful Artists’ Residency. This exhibition is the best proof of the ‘power of art to bring different cultures together and showcase the richness of the artistic dialogue between the Netherlands and Qatar, which includes our shared commitment to addressing contemporary challenges.
The two curators of this exhibition come from different specialties, but it is their shared passion for art that brought them together, as Dirk van Lierop is – originally – a Dutch businessman specializing in wealth management through exclusive investments in art, while Alejandra Barillas, crowned with the title of Queen… Beauty of Guatemala 2011 is a Latin American businesswoman, gallery owner and art curator. Together, they organize exhibitions in galleries, art festivals and museums, and organize private art sales at collectors.
Eternal echoes…the cry of Gaza
The exhibition “Eternal Echoes: Gaza’s Silent Cry” was opened at Al-Garage 3 gallery, an exhibition by journalist and presenter of the Al Jazeera media network, Hayat Al-Yamani. In tribute to the memory of the children of Gaza, whose cries were buried under the rubble.
The balloons on display, which usually symbolize the innocence of childhood, are transformed in this exhibition into painful memories of unimaginable conflicts.
The exhibition, curated by Saida Al-Khulaifi and Fatima Al-Zaini, features a series of sculptures that represent a moment of contemplation and the urgent need to pay attention to the children of Gaza, whose cries are buried under the bombardment and among the rubble.
It is a relentless war, a war that destroyed the childhood of more than 16 thousand children, of whom only the sounds of their cries remained, and their eternal echo returned to this universe.
Eternal echoes, a moment of listening to the children of Gaza, whose cries are muffled under the bombings and the rubble!
In this space, fragile balloons, symbols of innocence and celebration, become testimonies of the new challenge… a childish challenge in the face of the machine of killing and destruction.
Each balloon carries within it a childhood story, a dream that was not destined to come true and a laughter extinguished by the noise of the shells. Despite this, it continues to rise with agility and harmony, resisting with its fragility the ugliness of the crime committed against children.
As for clay, it is this eternal promise of creation again, the secret of existence and return. It is as if the earth, by swallowing up the laughter of children and their bodies, made the promise of a new birth and the rebirth of life despite the rubble of death, whose red bleeds.
Mud and red balloons combine in a contradictory scene, reflecting the struggle between annihilation and survival. Clay, that earthly weight that stores the power of life and death. The balloons, light as ephemeral dreams, fly away into the space of desolation as a symbol of a childhood that will never disappear.
In the curves of the clay lies the story of the first creation, and in the fluttering of the red balloons, a moment of unbeatable challenge.
Commenting on the two art exhibitions, Khalifa Al-Obaidli, Director of Fire Station: Artists’ Residence, said: “In line with Fire Station: Artists’ Residence’s goal of developing Qatar’s artistic community and supporting creative messages through art, we are proud to host these two influential exhibitions. The exhibition ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ highlights our cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, highlights the importance of cultural exchange and the role of art in bringing communities together and promoting mutual understanding, while presenting the exhibition ‘Eternal Echoes: The Silent Cry of Gaza’ in honor of the children of Gaza, and a warning to all of us not to forget their suffering. We invite everyone to visit Fire Station: Artists’ Residence to view these two distinguished exhibitions.”
Fire Station: Artists’ Residence is a world-class artist residency program, part of Qatar Museums Creative Industries, a center that creates and supports projects that create opportunities to build a strong and sustainable cultural fabric.