Monira Al Qadiri

Monira Al Qadiri  Geologie del Tempo/ Geologies of Time inaugurazione di una nuova opera site-specific, realizzata in occasione della decima edizione del progetto di residenza nomade Viaggio in Sicilia inauguration of a new site-specific work, created on the occasion of the tenth edition of the nomadic residency project Viaggio in Sicilia Sabato 23 maggio ore 18/Saturday May 23rd at 6pm tenuta dell’Ulmo @planetawinery Lecture performance by Monira Al Qadiri @moniraism with Flora Pitrolo Live set Philip Kylberg @vito.planeta @federicajannuzzi @valentina_bruschi @beatrice_merz @fondazionemerz @philip.kylberg @ludovicasolari @larafacco_press @ignaziomortellaro @beit.studio Non solo vino, ma cultura in movimento. Lo Studiolo di @planetawinery Ulmo è un laboratorio di idee immerso nel verde. Opere, libri e interventi contemporanei convivono qui per creare una connessione profonda tra uomo e paesaggio.  More than just wine: it’s culture in motion. The Studiolo @planetawinery Ulmo is a laboratory of ideas surrounded by nature. Artworks, books, and contemporary projects coexist here to create a profound connection between humanity and the landscape. Tra le immagini, compare anche il lightbox, On Fire (2023), di Claire Fontaine @foreignerseverywhere

“Today, insects are feared or ignored, despite being vital to our survival. ‘First Sun’ encourages us to recognise the divine in what we might otherwise overlook” - @Moniraism 🪲 

Monira Al Qadiri’s ‘First Sun’ is a majestic painted aluminium sculpture currently on show in @centralparkNYC and soon to debut in Toronto’s upcoming @TheLatFoundation Art Trail. 

Towering at an impressive 17 feet and shimmering in purple and green hues, the sculpture reflects Al Qadiri’s interest in how humanity explores the unknown through science, religion, mythology and art. 

📆: Until 2 August 
📸: First Sun, 2025. Photo by Nicholas Knight, courtesy of @PublicArtFund NYC & Monira Al Qadiri

Monira Al Qadiri  Geologie del Tempo/Geologies of Time Sabato 23 maggio ore 18 /Saturday May 23rd at 6pm  tenuta dell’Ulmo @planetawinery Lecture performance by Monira Al Qadiri with Flora Pitrolo Live set Philip Kylberg VIS # 10 a cura di / curated by Valentina Bruschi e Vito Planeta Fotografa del viaggio / Photographer Federica Jannuzzi Grafica comunicazione e catalogo / Visual design and catalogue Ignazio Mortellaro (@beit.studio ) Ufficio stampa /Press office @larafacco_press @ludovicasolari L’edizione di quest’anno si inserisce nel programma Gibellina 2026 OFF, calendario di eventi collaterali promosso nell’ambito di Gibellina Capitale Italiana dell’Arte Contemporanea, ed è realizzata in collaborazione con la Fondazione Merz.  This year’s edition is part of the Gibellina 2026 OFF program, a calendar of collateral events promoted as part of Gibellina Italian Capital of Contemporary Art, and is organized in collaboration with Fondazione Merz @moniraism @valentina_bruschi @vito.planeta @federicajannuzzi @planetawinery @philip.kylberg @larafacco_press @ludovicasolari @fondazionemerz @gibellina2026 @ignaziomortellaro @beit.studio

Raised in Kuwait, Monira Al Qadiri explores the "petro-culture" of the Persian Gulf through visionary videos and sculptures suspended between science fiction and ecological destruction. In works such as "OR-BIT 1-8" and the monumental "ORBITAL", rotating iridescent drill heads become symbols that are simultaneously magical and terrifying emblems of ongoing environmental devastation. Listen to the episodes of Radio GAMeC - Pedagogy of Hope on Spotify🎙️ Conversations held in English, live on streaming at 11.30 am Hosted by Alice Labor __ #BiennaleArte2026 #InMinorKeys #radiogamec #gamec #gamecbergamo @labiennale @_lorenzogiusti @lara_facco @moniraism

AND ITS OPEN! My installation “The Children of Smokeless Fire” is now open to the public at Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice! It’s on the outer facade of the building- You can see it best from passing boats 👀🚤✨ The entire group exhibition “A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art & Models of Our World” is really a must see - go to Salute and check it out! 💥 #moniraalqadiri #thechildrenofsmokelessfire #venice #saudimoc

ON MY WAY TO VENICE! 💫 I’m showing my work “The Children of Smokeless Fire” as part of the group exhibition “A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art & Models of Our World” opening on May 5th at Abbazia di San Gregorio - Dorsoduro 172, Venice. Set in the beautiful setting of an ancient abbey (from the 9th century!), my work is installed on the outer facade of the building where you can see it from passing boats & vaporettos! 🚤 ✨ It’s a fun work about historical drawings of djinns that hopefully will make people smile 🥰 Catch it in Venice until November 👀 The exhibition is curated by Sara Al Mutlaq @sara.endipity and Aurora Fonda, organized by the Saudi Ministry of Culture ⭐️

I’m happy to share that my video & glass sculpture installation “Holy Quarter” (2020) is now on show at @salt_beyoglu as part of the “Breaking the Dam” exhibition. Originally commissioned by @haus_der_kunst in Munich before the pandemic, the work follows the failed journey of Harry St. John Philby in the Empty Quarter desert in the 1930s to search for an Atlantis of the Sands. In the end he only finds tiny black objects strewn across the landscape that he later discovers were meteorites from outer space. The work highlights the hubris of the colonial mind and the power of the human imagination to assign myths to misunderstood objects. Since 2020, the work has traveled to China, Saudi Arabia, the USA, and other locations. It is quite a rare sight to see - please catch it Istanbul until August! #moniraalqadiri #holyquarter #wabarpearls #saltbeyoglu #istanbul

Viaggio in Sicilia # 10, Geologies of Time, lands at Studiolo, Sambuca di Sicilia (AG) Sabato 23 maggio 2026, alle 18.00, inaugura Viaggio in Sicilia # 10, la decima edizione del progetto di Planeta Cultura che da vent’anni invita artisti italiani e internazionali a confrontarsi con il paesaggio, la storia e le stratificazioni culturali dell’isola. Nello Studiolo, tra le vigne dell’Ulmo affacciate sul Lago Arancio, a Sambuca di Sicilia, protagonista di questa nuova edizione è Monira Al Qadiri con Geologie del tempo / Geologies of Time, progetto nato dalla residenza nomade vissuta durante la vendemmia 2025.Un attraversamento della Sicilia come immersione nel tempo profondo, tra memorie geologiche, rovine e trasformazioni, che prende forma in una nuova installazione permanente site-specific in dialogo con il paesaggio. Artista kuwaitiana, nata in Senegal, cresciuta in Kuwait, formatasi in Giappone e oggi di base a Berlino, Monira Al Qadiri è tra le voci più autorevoli della scena contemporanea internazionale. L’edizione di quest’anno si inserisce nel programma Gibellina 2026 OFF, calendario di eventi collaterali promosso nell’ambito di Gibellina Capitale Italiana dell’Arte Contemporanea, ed è realizzata in collaborazione con la Fondazione Merz. La presentazione al pubblico prevede una performance dell’artista in collaborazione con Flora Pitrolo e live set di Philip Kylberg sulle rive del lago Arancio. VIS#10 a cura di Valentina Bruschi e Vito Planeta Fotografa del viaggio Federica Jannuzzi Grafica comunicazione e catalogo @ignaziomortellaro Ufficio stampa @larafacco_press @ludovicasolari @moniraism @vito.planeta @valentina_bruschi @federicajannuzzi @philip.kylberg @planetawinery @fondazionemerz @gibellina2026 @ignaziomortellaro

AND IT HAS COME TO AN END! After almost 6 months on show, my solo exhibition CHAMELEON @arkenmuseum in Copenhagen has closed its doors 👋 Thank you to the thousands of people who came to see the show - one of the biggest of my career - and who sent me kind words of encouragement and support, I really appreciate every single one of you 🙏 Thanks to the museum team who dealt with my not so easy installations for such an extended period, and took care of my works with all the crowds around. Thanks to the curator Jenny Lund for putting together an unexpected mix of works in this huge unconventional space. Thanks to my studio team who I couldn’t do these things without. 🛢️ As I have been saying for a decade, oil is the theme of our time, the lifeblood of our modern world, and my works attempt to imagine a world after its obsolescence. I hate how relevant this concept is today, but it’s literally the most destructive issue that the world is facing 🛢️ The next large-scale solos are coming up in 2027 - see you then! 🔥#moniraalqadiri #chameleon #arken #adios

@moniraism lures you in with shimmering surfaces—only to reveal the deeper currents beneath: extraction, inequality, collapse. The Kuwaiti artist rarely shares what she’s listening to, so this one feels special. Her current track crush: “Hito no inai Shima” by Yoshiko Sai (1976)—a hypnotic homage to her years in Japan. ✨

And it’s open!🔥My sculpture “Alien Technology (Tower)” (2023) is part of the @newmuseum ’s inaugural exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future” curated by Massimiliano Gioni that’s opening to the public on March 21st! Happy to be up on the 4th floor next to @anickayi_studio ’s incredible floating aerobes and so many other robotic experiments and fantasies 💫💫💫 Catch the show if in New York! #newmuseum #newhumans #moniraalqadiri #newyork

Happy 75th birthday to the most beautiful mama in the universe @thuraya.albaqsami 💚🩷❤️🧡💛🩵 You have always been my inspiration, my idol, my icon; the artist I have always strived to be. You are the kindest and funniest soul 🌷 I’m so sad I can’t be with you to celebrate this day, but I’m always thinking of you, talking and writing about you. You are a treasure for our country and for the world 🇰🇼 I love you mama, happy birthday 🎂🎂🎂💖💖💖 #thurayaalbaqsami