20/09/2026
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃
Stories of fishing, memory and environmental resilience in the Gulf
September 23 - November 7, 2026
The Gulf is a place of extremes. Its waters are among the warmest and most saline in the world, and its coastlines are being reshaped at extraordinary speed. Yet for generations, people have made their lives here by reading the sea: knowing where fish gather, when the tides turn, which creatures can be harvested, and when to stay ashore.
Across Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, small-scale fishing communities are now navigating a sea that is changing beneath them. Rising temperatures and sea levels, altered salinity, coastal development and overfishing are placing growing pressure on both marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them. These pressures are inseparable. What threatens the fish also threatens the fisher; what enables one to survive can, in turn, place further pressure on the other.
This exhibition looks at that complicated idea of resilience.
Curated by environmental journalist Richa Syal () , this exhibition brings together the work of three women photographers based in the Gulf:
Maureen Daly () documents fishermen in Bahrain living with decades of coastal alteration.
Reem Mohammed () turns her lens toward the shark trade in the UAE, where ecological importance and economic value pull in opposite directions.
Reinilda Dernison () follows Bedouin fisherwomen in Oman whose knowledge of the intertidal world passes between generations of women.
Supported by
These are stories of endurance, but they are not uncomplicated stories of triumph. They ask what resilience costs, and who is asked to bear that cost.
Opens Wednesday, September 23 · Doors open 6:00 PM
📍 Gulf Photo Plus, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
