Meaningful/less

At Al Riwaq Art Space in Manama, the group exhibition Meaningful/less asks what it means to search for meaning under the pressures of contemporary life. Curated by Khurram Salman and Shereen Fekri, the show brings together 14 artists and runs until 1 October 2026.

The curators describe their starting point plainly. "We wanted to put together a body of work that evaluates existentialism as a by-product of contemporary living," Khurram Salman told Gulf Daily News. Shereen Fekri added that "each of the selected artwork adds a layer to the conversation that we wanted to have."

The exhibition unfolds in three chapters. Crisis looks at the loss of meaning and the anxiety and depression that can follow. Process turns to the systems that shape identity and the emotional strain they produce. Arrival closes the show on a gentler note, finding peace and purpose through art and human connection. Among the participants are the Bahraini photographer Ghada Khunji, Salman AlNajem, Iskandar Dawani, Nura AlRumaihi and Zain AlMutawa.

True to Al Riwaq's role as a community space as much as a gallery, the show comes with a full public programme: a photo jam, a writing workshop, film screenings, a talk titled Making Meaning Anyway by Razan Shaheen on 23 September and an art journaling workshop, Processing The Times, led by Shereen Fekri on 26 September. The curators say they wanted "to let the questions exist and to provide space for this important conversation."