In this episode of Relay, host Raja Aderdor speaks with Fatima Al Yousef, a Qatari artist and illustrator, in a conversation that explores artistic practice, visual storytelling, and the relationship between identity and contemporary art.

Fatima Al Yousef is an artist whose work is deeply rooted in observation and lived experience. Working primarily through illustration and visual storytelling, she approaches her artistic practice as a way of documenting life, capturing significant moments, personal reflections, and the people and environments that shape her perspective. Her work contributes to wider conversations around visual culture, narrative, and the ways stories are communicated through images.

Together, they reflect on Fatima's artistic journey, tracing the experiences and influences that have informed her work and creative development. The discussion examines how personal narratives, cultural context, and everyday observation become sources of artistic expression, while considering the role of storytelling across contemporary visual practice and creative publishing. It also explores how art can function as a form of documentation, preserving memories, experiences, and evolving understandings of identity.

The conversation moves across questions of contemporary art and cultural expression, exploring the position of women artists within Qatar's creative landscape and the ways artistic practice can contribute to broader conversations about belonging, representation, and social change. It considers how artists navigate the relationship between personal experience and public engagement, and how visual narratives circulate across exhibitions, publications, and other cultural platforms.

This episode is in collaboration with Tasmeem Doha 2026: Transmit.

Relay, a podcast from Clavis Aurea Podcasts, explores the people and processes behind publishing, art, and cultural production. Through conversations with people working across the cultural sector, the podcast looks at how ideas move from concept to physical form through books, exhibitions, and printed production. At its core, Relay focuses on the creative chain behind cultural work. Writers, editors, designers, photographers, publishers, printers, and institutions each play a role in bringing ideas into the world.

Interested in collaborating or being part of the podcast? Reach out through the Clavis Aurea social media channels or contact the team directly.

Host Raja Aderdor speaks with Ben Marcus from Goodbye Press, in a conversation that explores the realities of independent publishing and the material and editorial processes that shape it.

Based in Chicago, Goodbye Press is an independent publishing house known for its strong visual identity and commitment to print culture. Working across books, printed matter, and risograph production, the press operates at the intersection of publishing, design, and contemporary visual culture.

Together, they reflect on the origins of Goodbye Press, tracing its evolution from an informal creative project into an established independent publishing house. The discussion examines the relationship between print production, editorial identity, and visual language, considering how small presses develop distinct publishing practices rooted in experimentation and creative commitment. It also highlights the role of risograph printing within independent publishing, and how material choices shape the way books are produced, circulated, and experienced.

The conversation moves across questions of publishing ecosystems, exploring how independent presses operate not only as producers of books, but as spaces of collaboration, aesthetic inquiry, and cultural exchange. It considers how editorial and design decisions reflect broader ways of thinking, and how independent publishing can redefine the relationships between makers, texts, and audiences.

This episode is in collaboration with Tasmeem Doha 2026: Transmit.

Relay, a podcast from Clavis Aurea Podcasts, explores the people and processes behind publishing, art, and cultural production. Through conversations with people working across the cultural sector, the podcast looks at how ideas move from concept to physical form through books, exhibitions, and printed production. At its core, Relay focuses on the creative chain behind cultural work. Writers, editors, designers, photographers, publishers, printers, and institutions each play a role in bringing ideas into the world.

Interested in collaborating or being part of the podcast? Reach out through the Clavis Aurea social media channels or contact the team directly.

Host Raja Aderdor speaks with Tasneem Hozein from 40MUSTAQEL, in a conversation that explores the emergence of regional publishing platforms and their role within evolving media landscapes.

Together, they reflect on the challenges of distribution, audience-building, and sustainability, considering what it takes to create independent platforms that can grow and endure. The discussion examines how regional initiatives navigate structural limitations while developing new pathways for circulation, visibility, and engagement. It also highlights the importance of centering regional voices, and how these platforms contribute to shaping cultural production from within their own contexts.

The conversation moves across questions of media ecosystems, exploring how publishing platforms operate not only as channels of content, but as spaces of connection, experimentation, and community-building. It considers how ideas are developed and shared across audiences, and how independent initiatives can redefine the relationship between creators, publishers, and readers.

This episode is in collaboration with Tasmeem Doha 2026: Transmit.

Relay, a podcast from Clavis Aurea Podcasts, explores the people and processes behind publishing, art, and cultural production. Through conversations with people working across the cultural sector, the podcast looks at how ideas move from concept to physical form through books, exhibitions, and printed production. At its core, Relay focuses on the creative chain behind cultural work. Writers, editors, designers, photographers, publishers, printers, and institutions each play a role in bringing ideas into the world.

Interested in collaborating or being part of the podcast? Reach out through the Clavis Aurea social media channels or contact the team directly.

Host Raja Aderdor speaks with Hind Al Saad, Reham Mohamed, and Sara Al-Afifi in a conversation that explores the curatorial process behind Tasmeem Doha 2026: Transmit. 

Together, they reflect on how concepts such as transmission and knowledge commons are translated into an exhibition framework, and what it means to curate within a space shaped by collaboration and shared authorship. Tasmeem Doha is a biennial organized by VCUarts Qatar and brings together designers, artists, scholars, and cultural practitioners to explore critical questions in design and visual culture across the region and beyond.

The discussion moves across questions of curatorial practice, examining the role of the curator as both facilitator and mediator. It explores how ideas are developed, negotiated, and shaped across contributors, and how curatorial decision-making operates as an evolving process, responsive to context, dialogue, and the shifting nature of knowledge production. The conversation also situates Tasmeem Doha within a broader design and cultural landscape, considering how biennials and design platforms can act as spaces for exchange, experimentation, and collective thinking. It reflects on how transmission operates not only as a theme, but as a method, connecting people, practices, and forms of knowledge across disciplines and geographies.

This episode is in collaboration with Tasmeem Doha 2026: Transmit.

Relay, a podcast from Clavis Aurea Podcasts, explores the people and processes behind publishing, art, and cultural production. Through conversations with people working across the cultural sector, the podcast looks at how ideas move from concept to physical form through books, exhibitions, and printed production. At its core, Relay focuses on the creative chain behind cultural work. Writers, editors, designers, photographers, publishers, printers, and institutions each play a role in bringing ideas into the world.

Interested in collaborating or being part of the podcast? Reach out through the Clavis Aurea social media channels or contact the team directly.

Host Raja Aderdor speaks with Sebastian Baden, director of Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, in a conversation that explores the evolving role of cultural institutions today. Together, they reflect on how museums are rethinking their position in a rapidly shifting cultural and political landscape, and what it means to remain relevant, responsive, and critically engaged.

The discussion moves across questions of institutional transformation, examining how exhibitions can act as spaces for dialogue, confrontation, and reflection. It considers the role of political art within museum contexts, the responsibility of cultural institutions in addressing global challenges, and how sustainability is approached not only environmentally, but also socially and structurally within programming and curatorial practice. 

The conversation also situates these questions within a broader geographic lens, reflecting on how European institutions are engaging with and building bridges toward the Global South. It explores how collaboration, exchange, and dialogue across regions can move beyond representation toward more sustained and reciprocal cultural relationships.

The Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt is one of Europe’s leading venues for modern and contemporary art, the SCHIRN presents large-scale exhibitions, interdisciplinary programs, and public discourse that engage with both art history and current societal questions.

Relay, a podcast from Clavis Aurea Podcasts, explores the people and processes behind publishing, art, and cultural production. Through conversations with people working across the cultural sector, the podcast looks at how ideas move from concept to physical form through books, exhibitions, and printed production. At its core, Relay focuses on the creative chain behind cultural work. Writers, editors, designers, photographers, publishers, printers, and institutions each play a role in bringing ideas into the world.

Interested in collaborating or being part of the podcast? Reach out through the Clavis Aurea social media channels or contact the team directly.

In this introductory episode, we uncover the idea behind the podcast and what listeners can expect from future conversations. We also explore the meaning of the word relay and present the visual identity of the podcast designed by artist Vajo, whose artwork reflects the movement of ideas and collaboration at the heart of the project.

Relay, a podcast from Clavis Aurea Podcasts, explores the people and processes behind publishing, art, and cultural production. Through conversations with people working across the cultural sector, the podcast looks at how ideas move from concept to physical form through books, exhibitions, and printed matter.

At its core, Relay focuses on the creative chain behind cultural work. Writers, editors, designers, photographers, publishers, printers, and institutions each play a role in bringing ideas into the world.

Interested in collaborating or being part of the podcast? Reach out through the Clavis Aurea social media channels or contact the team directly.