Firetti Contemporary is proud to announce that Emirati artist Salmah Almansoori has been selected as one of the commissioned artists for Beyond: Emerging Artists 2025, a prestigious annual initiative by Abu Dhabi Art that supports and showcases the next generation of UAE-based talent.
Presented at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Almansoori’s installation The Weight of Absence pays homage to the quiet resilience embedded in the landscapes of Ghayathi, her hometown in Al Dhafra. Through a labor-intensive process of papermaking, she transforms local grasses, natural fibers, and collected objects into sculptural forms that hold memory, labor, and history. The work meditates on the endurance required to build life in the desert — through shared work, community, and adaptation.
Expanding on this narrative, her complementary installation Rituals of Becoming at Al Ain Oasis continues to explore the dialogue between nature, memory, and transformation. Here, Almansoori reflects on what is left behind, what is reinterpreted, and what is passed on, transforming everyday materials into poetic vessels of remembrance.
Together, these works celebrate Almansoori’s evolving practice, one that bridges tradition and experimentation, and that redefines how place and memory are experienced through material form.
November 24, 2025
