Dallas is about to meet an oil drill like no other. From November 4 through December 6, 2026, Dallas Contemporary presents Monira Al Qadiri: Alien Technology, a luminous exhibition curated by Tairone Bastien and presented in collaboration with the 2026 Aurora Biennial, States of Becoming.
Al Qadiri, a Kuwaiti visual artist born in Senegal and educated in Japan, works across sculpture, installation, film and performance, blending science fiction with traditional practices and popular culture. Her works trace the Persian Gulf’s extraordinary metamorphosis from a pearling economy to a petrostate — a rupture her own grandfather lived firsthand as a singer on a pearling boat in the 1940s.
Two major works anchor the show. In the film Diver (2018), synchronized swimmers in shimmering dichroic costumes evoke pearls and oil as they move to a traditional pearl-diving song. Nearby, Alien Technology (Tower) (2023) transforms an industrial oil-drilling bit into a glowing, futuristic kinetic form whose iridescent surface recalls both the sheen of petroleum and the lustre of pearls — part industrial relic, part mythical being.
The exhibition arrives as part of States of Becoming, the city-wide Aurora Biennial of free public art, performances and lectures across Dallas and Fort Worth from November 4 to 21, culminating in a free outdoor celebration on November 21. Dallas Contemporary, at 161 Glass Street, offers free admission through 2026 and is open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Happy City News invites you to step inside and imagine the new myths taking shape in a rapidly changing world.
Photo: Dallas Contemporary
