Jessica Fulford-Dobson, an award-winning photographer, will be presenting her critically acclaimed series of portraits — Skate Girls of Kabul — at the Qatar Museums Gallery in Katara until October 21.

The exhibition, presented by Qatar Museums under the leadership of its Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is being exhibited anywhere in the Middle East for the first time. 

Celebrating and embracing the community-based inspiration behind the show, Qatar Museums will set up a skate ramp that will be built on the occasion of the exhibition and open to the public for the duration of the show. 

The portraits tell the extraordinary story of Afghan girls who took up skateboarding, thanks to Skateistan, an Afghan charity that provides skate parks as a hook to get children from disadvantaged families back into the educational system.

The striking images bring to life the hopeful spirit of these young girls that show a new perspective and dimension to skateboarding culture — one that shows strength in the face of adversity.

The story of Afghanistan’s Skate Girls grabbed Jessica’s attention in late 2012 and she was determined to tell it to the world, sharing its uplifting message and inspiring others to support the Skateistan charity.

Jessica created the photo series with the hope of showcasing the happiness Skateistan has brought to the girls whilst not influencing their culture, but working with it.

The series was first shown in London at the Saatchi Gallery in 2015, where it was positively received and viewed by more than 74,000 visitors during its two-week run. 

Jessica Fulford-Dobson started work as a portrait photographer in 2000, after being introduced to photography when working with award-winning filmmaker Nicholas Claxton on the documentary: ‘Linda McCartney: Behind the Lens’.

Since then, Jessica has become an award-winning artist in her own right. Out of over 4,000 submissions, her portrait of Skate Girl won 2nd Prize at The National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize Award.