Cities are often described through their skylines, monuments, and architecture, but they are truly shaped by the lives unfolding within them. Every street carries memory, every building reflects change, and every window hints at stories we may never know. A city is never just a place, it is a collection of experiences, emotions, cultures, and histories layered over time.

While curating Cityscape, I was struck by how differently artists from around the world responded to the same theme. Some turned toward bustling streets filled with movement, while others found meaning in silence, forgotten corners, reflections on water, or imagined cities that exist only in memory. Some celebrated architecture as a symbol of identity, while others questioned what happens when cities change, disappear, or leave lasting marks on those who inhabit them.

This exhibition brings together voices from many countries and artistic traditions, yet each work reminds us that cities are deeply personal. The same street can represent home, exile, hope, loss, celebration, or longing depending on who is looking at it. Together, these artworks reveal that a city is never a fixed landscape, it is constantly rewritten by the people who pass through it.

As an immigrant, I have come to understand cities not only as places where we live, but as places where we slowly become someone new. They witness our beginnings, our uncertainties, and the quiet moments that shape us. Perhaps that is why this exhibition feels especially meaningful to me. It is less about buildings than about belonging.

I hope Cityscape encourages viewers to look beyond familiar skylines and recognise the humanity embedded within them. Whether depicting a historic neighbourhood, a contemporary metropolis, or an imagined urban world, these works invite us to slow down and consider the countless lives, memories, and dreams that exist behind every façade.

Anisa Mosaiebiniya
Curator, No. 35 Gallery