HE Chairperson of Qatar Museums Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani unveiled the 2025 edition of the Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar, the nation's premier photography biennial, in the presence of CEO of Qatar Museums Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi, HE President of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed Al-Thani, among other dignitaries and photography enthusiasts.This year's festival will explore themes of belonging through eight exhibitions in five locations, anchored by the lead exhibition As I Lay Between Two Seas at the Fire Station: Artist in Residence.Each edition features exhibitions, awards, commissions, collaborations, presentations, and workshops focused on amplifying diverse photographic practices and dialogues, encouraging the professional and creative growth of photographers based in West Asia and North Africa (WANA).In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Khalifa Al Obaidly said that this year's edition of the festival features a selection of documentary artists and photographers, emphasizing the festival's leadership and the diversity of its exhibitions in its third edition, which celebrates the diversity of regional talent, offering emotionally stimulating visual narratives inspired by unique themes. He explained that the festival's central theme explores concepts related to belonging.In turn, Artistic Director of the Festival Meriem Berrada told QNA that these exhibitions will encourage the audience to reflect and self-examine, noting that this edition examines the multiple dimensions of the concept of belonging through eight exhibitions across Doha, showcasing the works of more than 88 artists from the Arab world and its diaspora. In addition, the photographers celebrate the richness and diversity of photography-based artistic practices in the region, offering a captivating exploration of identity, community, and collective memory.Curated by Meriem Berrada, As I Lay Between Two Seas offers a poetic exploration of belonging, identity, and home. Featuring works by twenty-five artists from the Arab world and its diasporas, this exhibition examines these themes not as fixed states but as ongoing productions informed by ruptures, fragments, and spectral traces. Daoud Aoulad Syad, Territories of the Instant celebrates over three decades of work by Moroccan photographer and filmmaker Daoud Aoulad-Syad.Deeply intertwined with his cinematic vision and with Moroccan popular culture, his photography captures the soul of his homeland, particularly its most remote regions. Since the 1990s, Aoulad-Syad has documented Moroccan landscapes, architecture, and people captured in dynamic moments, creating images that weave together visual storytelling with a subtle beauty. Territories of the Instant offers an intimate look at Aoulad-Syad's evocative style, where images transport viewers into a Morocco that is both timeless and deeply rooted in memory.Obliteration - Surviving the Inferno: Gaza's Battle for Existence, curated by Dr. Bahaaeldin Abudaya, unfolds in five stages to capture various phases of the devastating war in Gaza. Curated by Sheikha Maryam Hassan Al-Thani, Refractions: Tasweer Project Awards brings together 18 contemporary Arab photographers, winners from 2023 and 2024. Threads of Light: Stories from the Tasweer Single Image Awards, showcases 32 winning photographs from 2023 and 2024. The exhibition highlights photographers from 12 countries across the Arab world and beyond. Curated by Khalifa Al Obaidly Al Mihrab presents a visual conversation about places of worship in Qatar through the lens of artist Khalid Al Musallamany. Capturing mosques in both black and white and color, old and new, the exhibition highlights Al Musallamany's unique architectural perspective as he documents Qatar's religious spaces.After The Game highlights the engagement of photographers and filmmakers with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, showcasing diverse artistic perspectives that reflect each creator's unique vision and emotional response to the unfolding events, both inside the stadium and beyond, among fans, around the clock, and across every corner of Qatar. The exhibition also features a selection of short films about football, produced through the "Made in Qatar" program by the Doha Film Institute, which aims to discover and support passionate local filmmakers.Garangao 2025 invites photographers to submit their images for this special exhibition that celebrates the power of photography in capturing memory, belonging, and the spirit of cultural continuity.As part of its commitment to developing photography talent in Qatar, Tasweer presents a comprehensive educational program featuring symposia, masterclasses, networking events, and cultural exchanges in partnership with local educational institutions. A notable highlight is the ongoing 12-week vocational program organized with the VII Foundation, which offers intensive training across multiple photography genres - from architectural to documentary photography - with a special focus on empowering photographers from underrepresented communities to develop professional skills essential for success in the field.Other workshops focus on developing techniques for specific genres (such as self-portraiture and fashion photography) and professional skills, including sessions dedicated to creating portfolios. Photographers included in Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar will also have opportunities to discuss their pictures with museum visitors as part of regularly scheduled tours. In addition, a monthly event series titled Tasweer Talks will allow artists to present their work to the public and discuss their careers in 30-minute sessions, while online portfolio reviews for photographers of all levels will connect them with international industry experts for guidance and advice. Other programs will be geared toward families and audiences aged between 6 and 17.The exhibitions will continue to attract visitors at the Fire Station: Artist in Residence, Katara Cultural Village, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and Msheireb Museums (Company House) until June 20. (QNA)