Part of Qatar Museums’ latest initiative, Lusail Museum Conversations, is an ongoing series of public lectures and events. The inaugural season, titled The Late Ottoman World: At the Roots of the Modern Middle East, runs from January to April 2026 and takes place at Georgetown University in Qatar. Across five in-depth talks, the series explores questions of authority, artistic expression, reform, and belonging during the 19th century, revealing the foundations of many dynamics that continue to shape the region today. This season marks the first in a longer cycle of thematic programmes.
Starting with the Tunisian Bey’s historic visit to Paris in 1846, it explores how art, diplomacy, and architecture positioned the country at a crossroads of Ottoman reform, Mediterranean exchange, and emerging modern statehood.
About Dr. Ridha Moumni
Dr. Ridha Moumni is a curator and a historian of art and archaeology specialising in antiquity and the early and modern art of Tunisia. He currently serves as Chairman of Christie’s Middle East and Africa, overseeing the region’s strategy and the Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art auctions.
