Focusing on Mathaf Collection as a starting point that expands on research and local collaborations, this exhibition looks at reference points of generations of artists, intellectuals and cultural activists who played a major role in activating the cultural scene in Doha for more than half a century.
Faces and Places is Huguette Caland’s largest museum exhibition to date, featuring six decades of her paintings, drawings, caftans, smocks and sculptures.
Yto Barrada’s work engages with self-education, architecture, palaeontology, botany, and modernist histories, in order to explore forms of knowledge production.
Picasso’s Studios, organised in partnership with the Musée national Picasso-Paris, looks at the intimate examination of Pablo Picasso’s places of creation throughout his life, from his arrival in Paris around 1900 as a young artist to his last stay in the South of France, in the city of Mougins.
In celebration of the 2019 Year of Culture Qatar-India, the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is delighted to present an exhibition on magnificent gems and jewellery from India. Set in Stone: Gems and Jewels from Royal Indian Courts will showcase more than 100 spectacular pieces from across Qatar Museums’ collection, including many masterpieces that have never been displayed before.
The National Museum of Qatar is proud to present a dazzling collection of over 120 objects realised in gemstones and precious metals by the famed artist-jeweller Jean Schlumberger (1907-1987).
El Anatsui, born in 1944 in Anyako, Ghana and based in Nsukka, Nigeria since 1975, is Africa’s most prominent living artist. This exhibition encompasses every media used by El Anatsui in his remarkable 50 year career.
The exhibition reflects on the process of urbanism rather than its outcome. For the first time Doha’s evolution is displayed as a retrospective through seventy years of archival photography, models, plans, films, historic and oral narratives.
The State Tretyakov Gallery, the leading reservoir of Russian fine art in the world, presents iconic masterpieces for the first time ever in Doha as part of Qatar-Russia 2018 Year of Culture.
An exhibition that showcases the creativity of Qatar’s artists and photographers as they respond to the challenges of reconciling tradition and innovation, in a period of great change and possibility.
Qatar Museums is proud to present the first exhibition in the Middle East by KAWS (Brian Donnelly, born 1974, USA). The solo show explores his career and vast oeuvre and features painting and sculpture made over the past 20 years.
In the ongoing series I strongly believe in our right to be frivolous, Mounira Al Solh collects personal histories and experiences that emerge from the humanitarian
Over a nine month residency program eighteen artists were engaged in rich monthly debates with curators and researchers that helped to shape a diverse assemblage of artistic approaches from inception all the way to their final form as artworks.
Echoes is a prolongation of Al-Muftah’s ongoing research on the recollection of memories and stories that she documents as a continuous autobiography based on personal encounters and family stories.
Ai Weiwei’s Laundromat is a traveling installation that brings the current European migrant crisis into sharp focus. The work is centered around a vast makeshift camp near the village of Idomeni, on the border with the Republic of Macedonia.
Berlin’s legendary Kraftwerk space will be the spectacular location for the largest ever showcase of contemporary arts from Qatar, presented by Qatar Museums (QM) as the finale of the Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture programme, running from 9 December 2017 – 3 January 2018.
Driven by German Design opens in October at Al Riwaq Gallery – a vast exhibition space in the heart of Qatar’s museum district. Curated by renowned museum director Prof. Dr. Martin Roth before his passing, it features numerous design objects loaned from some of Germany’s most significant cultural institutions such as the Vitra Design Museum, Neue Sammlung,
A Major highlight of the Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture is a selection of artworks from the Deutsche Bank Collection – one of the world's most important corporate collections of contemporary art – on show at the Garage Gallery at the Fire Station.
Over 40 murals of different shapes and sizes have been gathered together from all over the country and installed at MIA Park, giving the public a closer look at the messages of encouragement and solidarity shared by the residents and visitors of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities.
Award winning photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson will present her series of striking portraits, Skate Girls of Kabul, which will 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.
Contemporary Calligraphy brings together a notable selection of intricate and beautiful calligraphic artworks dating from the 1960’s to the present day. Collected by renowned Turkish expert Mehmet Cebi, more than 200 pieces will feature in the exhibition.
Basim Magdy works in painting, drawing, text, photography and film. His ephemeral narratives blur fictional and real stories of lived and imagined experiences. These trace the cyclical processes of desire and disappointment in humanity’s attempts at reshaping societies systems and structures.
A new perspective to the Museum of Islamic Art’s collection by showing the connection between three major dynasties who mark the start of the early modern period in Islamic art.
JR is amongst a handful of world-renowned artists that combines art and engaged actions through large-scale outdoor installations, films, photographs and videos, using the streetscape as his canvas and his inspiration, which he claims as the largest art gallery in the world.
The first exhibition dedicated to the work of two of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), at the Fire Station - Artist in Residence in Doha.. The exhibition, which is the first to show these artists in the Middle East.
The exhibition, showcasing over 546 works across fifty years and a range of media, aims at mapping an itinerary of modernism and profiles the practice of the Iraqi artist.
The exhibition presents the history and legend, mythology and meaning of pearls and pearl jewellery from Qatar and around the world, and contains more than 100 pieces from around the world including the Gulf, Europe and Asia.
Terracotta soldiers from the First Emperor’s Terracotta Army will be on show at the Museum of Islamic Art where visitors will get the chance to meet the warriors who guarded a hidden empire.
The End of Residency exhibition is a culmination of an intensive nine-month programme, featuring works by eighteen local contemporary artists who have been working in the artist’s studios and spaces at the Fire Station since September 2015.
Asli Çavuşoğlu’s Red/Red (2015) explores the physicality of a colour to tell a story of coexistence and communality. Delicate flowers, plants, small animals, textiles, and abstract shapes are painted on handmade paper in two red inks: Armenian red, extracted from the endangered Armenian cochineal insect, and Turkish red, now used in the national flag.
An exhibition of the Qatar China 2016 Year of Culture that presents silk as a theme, and as a special local product of Zhejiang that played an important role in trade along the Silk Road.
A series of solo exhibitions featuring artists from the museum’s permanent collection, inviting audiences to rethink their understanding of art history and its connection to the world through original research, writing, and curating. In this second rotation, viewers have the opportunity to experience the first solo museum exhibition of conceptual Emirati artist Hassan Sharif.
For anyone lucky enough to visit Madrid this year, be sure to visit the Santander Gallery to see Looking at the World Around You – Contemporary Works from Qatar Museums . Organized by Fundación Banco Santander and Qatar Museums, the show features selected works from the collections of QM, in celebration of modern and contemporary art illustrating the Arab world’s perspective on the international art scene.
A unique exhibition that brings the costumes, sets and ambiance of the Magnificent Century series, a historical soap opera based on the life of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, to Doha.
Rich with symbolism and pageantry, hunting was, and in some places continues to be, an essential activity in the lifestyle of princes, sultans and pashas throughout the Islamic world.
Four photographers from two different Muslim nations documented theirs journeys as moments captured in time; engaging in an inspiring exchange of artistic discovery and cultural dialogue.
For Them features charcoal portraits of 15 influential Arab painters and sculptors created especially for this revealing exhibition. It presents a personal interpretation of the Arab world’s past great artists.
A major solo exhibition that presents two newly completed film trilogies, each inspired by stories and scripts of literature; Cabaret Crusades (2010-2014) draws on Amin Maalouf’s novel The Crusades through Arab Eyes (1983) while Al Araba Al Madfuna (2012-2015) collages the stories of Mohamed Mustagab with the artist's experience living in Upper Egypt.
This exhibition features the centrality of the female form to the artwork of the Qajar period in Iran (1785-1925). Through a variety of historical objects from MIA's collection, in juxtaposition with photographs and contemporary artworks inspired by the Qajar period, we explore the meaning of the image of women at the onset of modernity.
An exhibition that pays homage to the very first artists in residency in Qatar 15 years ago, it includes installations, photographs and videos of what Doha’s inaugural art residences were like, introducing visitors to a part of Qatar’s recent history that has never been shared so extensively before.
Selected works from the Mathaf Collection produced from the twentieth century, presenting over 100 artists give multiple entry points into the collection, through artistic research, historical moments, and aesthetic experimentations on the idea of an Arab modernity. This project positions and gives value to the heritage of Arab modernities within an international context.
Here There explores the environmental, cultural and social experience of life in Qatar and Brazil as presented through the eyes of each country’s most promising and talented young artists.The vibrant body of work from 42 Qatari and Brazilian artists ranges from pieces produced in traditional media such as paintings, drawings and printmaking, through to digital art, installations and interactive works.
An exhibition focusing on the real and mythical animals that appear in the legends, tales, and fables of the Islamic world, these marvellous creatures introduce timeless stories such as the well-known classics.
An exhibition on the sidelines of the 25th Men's Handball Championship featuring jerseys and videos from seven former IHF World Handball Players of the Year. It explores the international and local history of handball, including memorabilia from Qatari player Saleh Hassan Bu Jaloof from the 1970s, and from Boris Vrle Vrhovac, physical therapist of the Qatari national handball team.
Mal Lawal is a unique showcase of private collections, blending heritage, culture and contemporary art to celebrate historically and socially significant objects and antiques. This is the second edition of the biennale and showcases 100 Qatari and 42 regional private collectors.
Highlighting Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad’s most striking artworks, from 1970s to today, this exhibition showcased three phases in Ahmad’s artistic career, from early oil paintings to mixed media calligraphic pieces, to his latest contemporary pieces derived from the medium he creates.
Curated by Abdellah Karroum, the exhibition will feature Neshat's existing and newly produced works, including the major photographic series, The Book of Kings (2012) as well as a selection of video installations commenting on the historical, cultural and political realities that she has focused on for over 30 years.
This exhibition delved into the life and times of Tipu Sultan, the South Indian ruler, statesman, and patron. Drawn entirely from the MIA collection, and featuring many objects which had never been displayed in Qatar, the centerpiece is a group of 24 paintings showing Tipu’s victory at the Battle of Pollilur in 1780.
Showcasing the Museum of Islamic Art's collection of miniatures and calligraphy, these objects reveal the journey of artistic refinement from the Middle East to Asia and Europe across the centuries. The exhibition allows us to understand the significance of Islamic art collecting over the course of history and how this part of MIA's collection was formed.
Focusing on rare and beautiful ceramics from Spain, the objects on display exemplify the blending of Muslim and Christian artistic motifs. Through the display of Andalusi ceramics, we highlight our philosophy of collecting and conserving key objects in the history of Islamic art to show why and how a museum collection is developed.
For this exhibition, Serra formed ‘Passage of Time’ - an immersive sculpture made up of two 66.5m long and 4.1m tall steel curves that snake diagonally through the space.
A touring exhibition by 6 Qatari artists, inspired by Richard Serra's work. The exhibition included photographs by Mohammed Al Dosari, Haya Al Thani, Abdulaziz Al Ajail and Amira Fareed, and sculptures by Khalifa Al Kuwari and Abdulaziz Youcef. Previously on display at Porto Arabia, The Pearl, until 29th June, before moving to W Hotel Doha.
This exhibition showcased the diversity of Hatoum’s work, spanning over 30 years. At the heart of the show was the artist’s seminal piece, Turbulence (2012).
This travelling exhibition arrived in Sao Paulo, from London, Kobe and Doha. Jewellery and works of art showcase the extraordinary variety of colour and shape of natural and cultured pearls. The exhibition examines how pearls have been employed over centuries as a symbol of status and wealth, how tastes vary in different cultures, and the changing designs of jewellery with pearls.
This MIA-curated exhibition took visitors on a journey exploring and illuminating the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. It presented artworks from MIA and objects from Qatari collections. The exhibition examined the history of this pilgrimage through the centuries, focusing on the rituals of Hajj as depicted through art, the routes taken and the experiences of pilgrims upon their return.
This took viewers back to the beginnings of the modern history of Qatar, with a focus on one of the most influential leaders of the country. It was organised by the National Museum of Qatar.
We hosted Damien’s first solo retrospective exhibition in the Middle East, documenting his twenty-five year career. He forces people to look closely at death and confront it directly, inside a gallery setting.
One of the most comprehensive exhibitions of its kind ever organised, it showcased both ancient and modern Olympics, narrated the history of the games and highlighted Qatar’s involvement. It was organised by 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum.
This project celebrated the strength and pride of female athletes from the Arab world, featuring large-scale photos by Brigitte Lacombe and videos by Marianne Lacombe.
Curated by Dr. Olga Nefedova, the exhibition took visitors behind the scenes by showcasing the work of museum researchers and restorers. It was orgnaised by the Orientalist Museum and included recently restored 17th century paintings from their collection.
This was an exhibition of Orientalist art and history, depicting the importance of European-Ottoman relations throughout the 16th century. It was organised by the Orientalist Museum.
This traced the evolution of the Modern Olympics through the development of photography and motion pictures from the 1870's to the present. It was organised by 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum and QM Media Collection.
Demonstrating a chronological narrative of the games, the exhibition featured items from the games, including medals, posters, programs and films and highlighted Qatari achievements at the event. It was organised by 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum.