It’s written Qatar, but it has to be read Qat-Art

Pubblichiamo la traduzione in inglese dell’articolo uscito su �la Lettura� #704 del 25 maggio 2025, disponibile nell’Archivio dell’App del supplemento. Nella sezione dell’App dedicata ai Temi del Giorno � anche disponibile un approfondimento di Stefano Bucci sul Museum of Islamic Art di Doha, in Qatar.

Designed by the Chinese-American Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ieoh Ming Pei on an artificial island near the Corniche (Doha’s seafront promenade), the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), inaugurated in 2008, effectively marked the beginning of the era of mega-museums in the Persian Gulf. With its �traditional Islamic architecture fused with 21st-century innovation� (as described by Pei himself), it set the tone for a wave of cultural landmarks in the region — a wave that would eventually bring the Louvre to Abu Dhabi in 2017. Another Pritzker laureate, the French architect Jean Nouvel, extended this era in 2019, again in Doha and again on the Corniche (just a short distance from the MIA), with his design for the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ), inspired by the shape of the �desert rose� (while Pei had looked to the ablution fountain of the Ahmad Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo as his model).

Alongside the Mathaf (Arab Museum of Modern Art), the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, the Al Riwaq Gallery, the Katara Gallery, and the Fire Station Garage Gallery — together with the archaeological site of Al Zubarah — these are the crown jewels of the Qatar Museums Authority (commonly known as Qatar Museums). Founded in the autumn of 2005, it is chaired by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and sponsored by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The mission is to �promote a rich and diverse heritage while simultaneously elevating the cultural level of the country, transforming Qatar into a vibrant hub for art, creativity, and education, fostering intercultural encounters and artistic innovation�.

It is precisely the pursuit of these new connections that underpins another Qatar Museums project, presented at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale: the Community Centre installation by Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari, located in the Giardini — part of the exhibition Beyti Beytak . My home is your home, which is split between the Giardini and Palazzo Franchetti. The installation explores the role of hospitality and traditions of welcoming in contemporary architecture and in the landscapes of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (collectively referred to by the acronym MENASA). It also anticipates the creation of Qatar’s permanent national pavilion within the Giardini (in the past fifty years, only two other nations, Australia and South Korea, have inaugurated a pavilion in this venue). The pavilion will stand next to the Stirling Pavilion (though a timeline has not yet been set) and will be designed by Franco-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh.

One of the most captivating features of Pei’s MIA — Pei also famously designed the iconic Pyramid in the Napoleon Courtyard of the Louvre in Paris — is its constant interplay with light. The limestone fa�ade changes color throughout the day, and the interior is bathed in light that illuminates artifacts spanning fourteen centuries of Islamic art from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Light is also the fundamental element in Nouvel’s �desert rose�. Ultimately, it is light — the �ideal� light that allows one to discover other cultures — that now guides the vision of Qatar Museums. Currently, the institution is presenting a highly diverse series of exhibitions: the third edition of the Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar (this year’s theme, To look at the sea is to become what one is, echoes that of the Italian Pavilion at the Arsenale and runs until June 20); Latinoamericano / Modern and Contemporary Art from the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires and Eduardo Costantini Collections (the first major exhibition dedicated to Latin American art, on view at the NMoQ until July 19); and Your ghosts are mine: expanded cinemas, amplified voices, which brings together around fifty filmmakers and video artists from the MENASA region at the Mathaf, on display until August 9.

Also at the Mathaf (and also running until August 9) are the exhibitions Qatar: Close to My Soul, which brings together a selection of works (from the 1960s to today) from the collection of Abdula bin Al Thani, and the solo show Sites of Imagination dedicated to the Qatari artist and designer Wafa Al-Hamad. Another designer — this time Italian — Marcello Gandini, the mastermind behind iconic supercars from the Lamborghini Miura to the Lancia Stratos, is the focus of the exhibition Ultraleggera at the National Museum of Qatar, on view until June 1.

�We are currently in the midst of an event, Evolution Nation, which celebrates fifty years of creativity and culture in Qatar and our ongoing development as a global cultural leader�, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani explains to �la Lettura�. �Father Amir (Sheikha Al Mayassa’s father) and His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim (her brother) gave us the vision to use culture as a means to contribute to the economic, social, and human development of our nation, while also allowing us to build bridges of mutual understanding with others. In 2025, we will mark the 50th anniversary of the National Museum of Qatar (the building designed by Nouvel replaced the original structure of what was Qatar’s first museum, inaugurated on June 23, 1975), the 20th anniversary of Qatar Museums, and the 15th anniversary of the Doha Film Institute. We are expanding that commitment. Currently, for example, we are strengthening ties with Argentina and Chile through the Years of Culture initiative and presenting the first major exhibition of Latin American art in the West Asia and North Africa region, in collaboration with the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires. At the same time, we are elevating our own creativity by showcasing nearly fifty years of modern Qatari art and highlighting works by filmmakers from the region who have been supported by the Doha Film Institute. This is the same vision that will be embodied in Qatar’s permanent pavilion in the Giardini of Venice, where our aim is to bring people together in dialogue, showcasing the art, architecture, and creativity of Qatar and the wider region. And it is this vision that is now guiding the development of the Art Mill Museum, our global museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Elemental, and the Lusail Museum, our museum of Orientalist art and think tank focused on East–West relations, designed by Herzog & de Meuron�.

By 2030, the �Qatar system� for the arts is set to expand with five new spaces. In addition to the Art Mill Museum and the Lusail Museum, the following will also be completed: Dadu, the Children’s Museum of Qatar (since 2022, 14,500 square meters of The Dadu Gardens have already been active — described as �living classrooms that use nature-inspired interactive play to support children’s cognitive and emotional development�); the Qatar Auto Museum; and the Qatar Preparatory School — a training institution focused on leveraging creativity for economic development, to be housed in a building designed by Philippe Starck.

Also part of this �Qatar system� is the upcoming debut of Art Basel in Doha — the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fair. Art Basel Qatar, organized by Qatar Sports Investments and QC+ (�a strategic and creative collective specializing in cultural commerce�), will launch in February 2026 at the M7 creative hub and in the Doha Design District in the heart of Msheireb. The aim is to offer an unparalleled platform for showcasing leading galleries and artistic talent from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and beyond.

The Art Mill Museum, designed by a team of architects led by Alejandro Aravena (another Pritzker Prize winner, like Herzog & de Meuron, who are designing the Lusail Museum), will be created through the transformation of a former flour mill into an 80,000-square-meter center for modern and contemporary art. It will include exhibition spaces, multidisciplinary galleries, workshops, and a public garden �where contemporary arts from around the world will be showcased, with a focus on narratives of identity, space, and time, and promoting a global dialogue between cultures�. The Lusail Museum, located on Al Maha Island (its design featuring two spheres evoking the full moon and the crescent moon), will house 19th- and 20th-century Orientalist paintings by artists such as Eug�ne Delacroix, Jean-L�on G�r�me, and Paul Klee, along with photographs by pioneers like Girault de Prangey and F�lix Teynard. The museum will present a journey �reflecting the complex cultural and artistic exchange between East and West, of which Orientalist painting is a key testament�.

Designed by the Dutch architects of UNStudio, Dadu, Qatar’s first national museum dedicated to children, will take shape in 15 modular cubes forming a hub for learning and social interaction. Its goal is to create a positive and lasting connection between young visitors and the world of museums, while promoting values of social responsibility and community. The Qatar Auto Museum, designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), founded by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas, will be housed in a repurposed former convention center. Spanning 30,000 square meters, it will feature permanent and temporary galleries, research platforms, and restoration workshops. These projects represent further milestones in a growing network of museums and cultural institutions aimed at transforming Qatar into a center of cultural excellence and innovation — a dynamic ecosystem that integrates research, education, creativity, sustainability, and, of course, art.

(traduzione di Rita Baldassarre)