Press conference on March 20: Monira Al Qadiri’s Kiasma exhibition revolves around the question of our common destiny
Monira Al Qadiri’s art deals with what it feels like to live a modern life made possible by oil during the accelerating climate crisis. Welcome to the press conference for Al Qadiri's exhibition Deep Fate at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma on Thursday 20 March 2025. Please register: kiira.koskela@kiasma.fi

The press conference starts at 11:00. Before that, media representatives have the opportunity to explore the exhibition from 10:00. The exhibition will be open for preview until 13:00.
The artist will be present at the conference.
More information: Communications Officer Kiira Koskela, kiira.koskela@kiasma.fi, +358 50 4786 861
Arrival: The doors of the museum open at 10:00. The address is Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki.
About the exhibition
Oil’s dual role in generating wealth and causing crises is a central theme in the new exhibition by artist Monira Al Qadiri (b. 1983). The subject is personal for her: Al Qadiri grew up next door to oil refineries in Kuwait and experienced the Gulf War as a child.
The exhibition features sculptures and video works from the last decade. Some of them are very large, while the smallest are only a centimetre in diameter. Various sculptures echo the shapes of the blades and the molecular structures of the chemicals used in oil drilling. Al Qadiri’s works are characterised by iridescent rainbow colours that are reminiscent of oil and the shimmering surface of pearls.
In her video works, the artist often returns to her childhood experiences. For the child living close to an oil refinery, the industrial structure evoked thoughts of a glowing metropolis rather than of environmental destruction. Meanwhile, burning oil fields were her first conscious encounter with oil.
Al Qadiri’s works also contain references to the history of her family. Before the oil boom, one important source of livelihood in the region was pearl diving, in which her grandfather worked. In the 1950s, the oil industry lifted the small country of Kuwait out of poverty and into prosperity, and in so doing brought an end to the pearl-diving industry.
The exhibition opens to the public on March 21.
Artist’s biography
Monira Al Qadiri (b. 1983, Dakar, Senegal) is a Kuwaiti artist educated in Japan. She currently lives and works in Berlin.
Her solo exhibitions include “The Archaeology of Beasts” (Bozar Brussels, 2024); “Benzene Float” (Halle Verriere, 2024); “Haunted Water” (UCCA Dune, 2023), “Mutant Passages” (Kunsthaus Bregenz, 2023); “Holy Quarter" (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 2022); “Refined Vision” (Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, 2022); “Holy Quarter” (Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2020).
Select group exhibitions include Desert X Al Ula (Al Ula, 2024); 24th Biennial of Sydney (Sydney, 2023–24); 8th Boras Biennial (Sweden, 2024); Sharjah Biennial 15 (Sharjah, 2023); 15th Asia Art Biennial, Taiwan (2021); Dubai Expo 2020 (2021); “Our World is Burning” (Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2020); “Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars” (MoMA PS1, New York, 2019–20). In 2022, Al Qadiri was featured in the Venice Biennale’s central exhibition “The Milk of Dreams.”
Monira Al Qadiri
Deep Fate
21.3.–7.9.2025
Keywords
Contacts
Kiira Koskela, Communications Officer, kiira.koskela@kiasma.fi, +358 294 500 631
Images





Links
Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma
Mannerheiminaukio 2,
FIN-00100
Helsinki, Finland
The Finnish National Gallery is the national museum of fine arts. It operates three of Finland’s best-known museums: the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. It also manages the national art collection and its archives, develops Finnish cultural heritage and promotes art to the wider public. www.kansallisgalleria.fi/en
Alternative languages
Subscribe to releases from KIASMA
Subscribe to all the latest releases from KIASMA by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from KIASMA
Pohjoismaisen paviljongin taiteilijat Venetsian 61. kansainväliseen taidebiennaaliin on nyt julkaistu13.3.2025 11:00:00 EET | Tiedote
Venetsian taidebiennaalin Pohjoismaisen paviljongin taiteilijat ensi vuonna ovat Benjamin Orlow, Klara Kristalova ja Tori Wrånes. Valinnoista vastaa tänä vuonna Kiasma.
Nordic Countries Pavilion announces artists for the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia13.3.2025 11:00:00 EET | Press release
The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma has selected Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow and Tori Wrånes to represent the Nordic Countries Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition will be curated by Kiasma’s Chief Curator, Anna Mustonen, and commissioned by Kiasma in collaboration with Moderna Museet, Sweden, and OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway.
Presskonferens 20 mars: Monira Al Qadiris utställning på Kiasma sveper sig runt vår gemensamma ödesfråga27.2.2025 09:35:47 EET | Pressinbjudan
I sin konst behandlar Monira Al Qadiri hur det känns att leva vårt moderna liv som möjliggörs av oljan, mitt i en accelererande klimatkris. Välkommen till presskonferensen för Al Qadiris utställning Deep Fate – Förtjusning och fördärv på Museet för nutidskonst Kiasma torsdagen den 20.3. Vänligen anmäl ditt deltagande: kiira.koskela@kiasma.fi
Kutsu: Monira Al Qadirin näyttely Kiasmassa kietoutuu yhteisen kohtalonkysymyksemme ympärille – näyttelyn esittely medialle 20.3.202527.2.2025 09:35:47 EET | Kutsu
Persianlahden merkittävimpiin nykytaiteilijoihin lukeutuva Monira Al Qadiri käsittelee taiteessaan sitä, miltä tuntuu elää öljyn mahdollistamaa modernia elämää kiihtyvän ilmastokriisin aikana. Hänen näyttelynsä Deep Fate – Lumous ja tuho esitellään medialle ennakkoon Kiasmassa torstaina 20.3.2025. Ilmoittauduthan: kiira.koskela@kiasma.fi
Press conference on March 20: Monira Al Qadiri’s Kiasma exhibition revolves around the question of our common destiny27.2.2025 09:35:47 EET | Press invitation
Monira Al Qadiri’s art deals with what it feels like to live a modern life made possible by oil during the accelerating climate crisis. Welcome to the press conference for Al Qadiri's exhibition Deep Fate at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma on Thursday 20 March 2025. Please register: kiira.koskela@kiasma.fi
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom