_6%20(1).jpg)
Doha, Qatar - January 19, 2026 - The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar will present a critical and immersive exploration of the future of the Gulf region in its spring 2026 exhibition, "What's between, between?" curated by Jack Thomas Taylor, curator of art, media and technology, and Amal Zeyad Ali, assistant curator, running from January 26 to May 14, 2026.
The exhibition will offer audiences the chance to examine the meanings and "Gulf Futurism," a term coined by Qatari artist Sophia Al-Maria, looking at the histories, dreaming, futures, and the Gulf region as a contested field shaped by rapid transformation, speculative imagination, and lived experience across the region, moving beyond singular narratives toward complex, in-between realities. Through loaned works, new commissions, and digital media, it examines the tensions between tradition and hyper-modernity, heritage and innovation, human and machine.
A key theme of the exhibition is the metaphor of salt, which is used as an analytical framework to reference histories of trade, labor, ecology, and extraction, while also pointing to contemporary conditions of rapid change. Building on this conceptual lens, the exhibition is structured around the Earth's atmospheric layers, moving from the troposphere, linked to global trade and consumption, to the thermosphere, associated with satellite infrastructure, communication systems, and space ambitions.
"With 'What's between, between?,' the Media Majlis Museum further advances Northwestern Qatar's academic mission by translating research, critical inquiry, and creative practice into an interactive exhibition engaging the wider local community," said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. "The exhibition reflects our commitment to evidence-based storytelling, offering audiences a means to engage thoughtfully with the region's layered histories and its fast-changing present, and to think critically about how futures are imagined and shaped."
Alfredo Cramerotti, director of Media Majlis Museum, added: "As a next-generation university museum, Media Majlis Museum is interested in the spaces where meaning is unsettled. This exhibition embraces the in-between, not as ambiguity to be resolved, but as a condition to be explored. It asks whose futures are being imagined, and who gets to participate in shaping them."
More than 20 artists from across the Gulf region have contributed to the exhibition, offering peripheral, poetic, and critical perspectives on life in the Gulf today. This includes Ahaad Alamoudi (Saudi Arabia); Ahmad Makia (UAE); Amna AlBaker (Qatar); Aseel AlYaqoub (Kuwait); Ayman Yossri Daydban (Saudi Arabia/Palestine); Eman Ali (Oman/Bahrain); Faisal Saeed Al Zahrani (Saudi Arabia); Farah Al Qasimi (UAE); Fatima Mohammed (Qatar); Khaled Bin Afif (Saudi Arabia); Larissa Sansour (Palestine); Lulua Alyahya (Saudi Arabia); Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum (UAE); Manal AlDowayan (Saudi Arabia); Nasser Al Salem (Saudi Arabia); Rashed AlShashai (Saudi Arabia); Sarah Abu Abdullah (Saudi Arabia); Sarah Aradi (Bahrain); Talal Al Najjar (UAE); Tarek Darwish (Qatar); Voyyd (Qatar); and Zahrah Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia).
The exhibition will be accompanied by a special publication, What's between, between?, which brings together a collection of original essays, dialogues, and critical reflections on Gulf futures through artistic, theoretical, and speculative perspectives.
Contributors include leading artists, writers, and thinkers whose practices have shaped critical discourse around Gulf futures, among them Sophia Al-Maria, an artist and writer whose work has been instrumental in articulating the aesthetics and politics of Gulf Futurism.
The Museum's contributions will extend beyond the exhibition this spring. Coinciding with Art Basel Qatar and Web Summit Qatar week, it will also present a dynamic public program of curator-led walkthroughs, majlis-style conversations, workshops, and educational initiatives.
"What's between, between?" will be on view at Media Majlis Museum from January 26 to May 14, 2026. Admission is free and open to the public.
About the Curators
Jack Thomas Taylor is a founding curator of the Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern Qatar. He has been based in the Arabian Peninsula since 2009, living and working in Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar. As Curator of Art, Media and Technology, his recent curatorial work includes What's between, between? (2026), Memememememe (2025), Ai or NAY? (2025), Anatomy of a Majlis (2024), and MetaWhat? (2023-2024). Jack is currently a PhD candidate at King's College London and a board member of ICOM Qatar.
Amal Zeyad Ali is the Assistant Curator at the Media Majlis Museum, where she previously served as Programs Associate and Curatorial Exhibition Manager. She curated her first exhibition in 2024 at the museum, The Limits of My Language Are the Limits of my world, and contributed to the museum's inaugural programming in 2019. As a 2018 Northwestern Qatar graduate, her curatorial approach centers on curiosity, inclusivity, and unpacking question-driven themes through local, regional, and international perspectives.
About the Media Majlis Museum
The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar is the first university museum in the Arab world dedicated to exploring journalism, communication, and media. Since its opening in Spring 2019, it has transcended the traditional role of a museum, fostering intellectual exploration, promoting open dialogue, and inspiring innovation at the intersection of art, communication, and technology. In 2022, it became the first Museum in the Middle East to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
About Northwestern University in Qatar
Northwestern University in Qatar is known for its distinguished history, famous programs, and exceptional faculty. Founded in partnership with the Qatar Foundation, Northwestern Qatar provides a framework through which students explore the world and, ultimately, shape its future through its distinguished programs in communication, journalism and strategic communication, and the liberal arts.
