I’ve been curating for 12 years and just launched The Art Station under the RAK Art Foundation in December 2024, which feels like the perfect launchpad for what’s next. I’m ready to flip the script from curator/cultural producer to artist and creator. I want more agency, more creative input, more of my weird ideas actually happening in the world. I’m done just representing cultural institutions. I want to create a movement. The puppet project is just the beginning. I’m looking to connect with fellow rule-breakers and idea-makers who get that the best creative work happens when you stop asking for permission and start building the thing that doesn’t exist yet.

Honestly? I saw a community that gets excited about inclusivity, creativity and celebrating unconventional projects and thought “finally, my people!” I’ve been curating exhibitions in Dubai and Riyadh, but my Gulf network is surprisingly small for someone who’s been obsessing over regional identity and culture since 2020. I’m looking for collaborators who don’t blink when I say things like “let’s make art with AI” or “what if we reimagined traditional majlis culture through digital storytelling?” When I taught at the American University of Bahrain I loved creating those lightbulb moments through lectures and immersive events, but I want to do it with people who are equally excited about pushing boundaries. 1833 feels like the place where I can finally say “I want to create something that explores Gulf identity in a completely new way” and instead of polite nods, I’ll get “tell me more” and “how can we make this happen?” That energy is exactly what I’ve been missing.

I’m obsessed with creating projects that used to seem impossible and costly before AI. I’m definitely a generalist and just can’t wait to make all the crazy concepts in my brain happen. My most ridiculous project? I’ve commissioned a Muppet-style puppet of myself because I want to perform but cameras terrify me. Having a fuzzy avatar feels hilariously liberating. To relax, my neurodivergent brain treats research as leisure. I disappear into rabbit holes that sound unhinged. I now know everything about ramen (17th-century origins, noodle physics, why tonkotsu takes 20 hours to get cloudy). These obsessions are my meditation. Also roller skating, but right now it’s more falling than skating.