In the Assembly of Lovers - Art Basel Qatar / Counterspace Studio

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Sumayya Vally, Counterspace pays homage to lost gathering spaces across the Muslim world at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar. Architect Sumayya Vally, Counterspace presents In the Assembly of Lovers, an installation commissioned for the inaugural Art Basel Qatar, taking place in Doha from 3–7 February 2026. Curated by Egyptian artist Wael Shawky, the fair explores the theme 'Becoming' – a meditation on humanity's ongoing transformation and the evolving systems that shape how we live, believe, and create meaning.

Ibraaz Art Space / Counterspace Studio

Hadir Al Koshta — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000

The space has been conceptualised and designed by architect and artistic director Sumayya Vally, Counterspace, whose practice is internationally recognised for redefining cultural typologies through community, memory, and ritual. Envisioned as an incremental unfolding — a gathering of gatherings — the headquarters will grow and evolve, responding to how people use and inhabit it. At its heart, the project is less about static architecture and more about an ongoing choreography of space, activated by dialogue, learning, and exchange. As a space that will grow over time through response, adaptation, and use, the project is a living framework, and many of its elements offer multiple configurations to accommodate and generate a plurality of encounters. "Because of the fever-dream speed with which the project has come into being, our approach reflects this moment — incremental and alive," says Sumayya Vally, Architect-in-Residence of the new Ibraaz space.

Office: Counterspace Studio | ArchDaily

In the Assembly of Lovers - Art Basel Qatar / Counterspace Studio

Ibraaz Art Space / Counterspace Studio