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Qatar Tribune

QM hosts historic ceremonies at 19th Venice Biennale venue

Tribune News Network Doha During the pre-opening events for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, Qatar Museums Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani hosted a series of historic ceremonies, discussions and celebrations on May 8, marking Qatar's heightened presence on this pre-eminent stage of the international art world. In Venice's Giardini, the heart of La Biennale di Venezia, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa welcomed Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, President of La Biennale di Venezia Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, and Qatar's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Italy HE Khalid bin Youssef Khalifa Abdullah Al Sada to the site of the future Qatar Pavilion. When completed, the Qatar Pavilion will be only the third national Pavilion added to the prestigious Giardini in more than fifty years. 'Qatar will join the great chorus of nations in the Giardini, where architecture becomes diplomacy, and beauty speaks peace,' HE Sheikha Al Mayassa said before the invited audience of dignitaries, distinguished guests and media. 'Our Pavilion, crafted by the brilliant Lina Ghotmeh, will embody hospitality, resilience and our collective dreams. 'The Qatar Pavilion will be a home for exchange, for wonder, for the world — a place to engage in multiple dialogues that foster peace and inspire understanding. It will also be the place where we showcase the art, architecture and creativity of Qatar and our entire region of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.' HE Sheikha Al Mayassa then opened the temporary installation that Qatar is presenting on the site: Community Centre, designed by architect Yasmeen Lari/Heritage Foundation of Pakistan. Community Centre is part of the exhibition, 'Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa', Qatar's official presentation in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition continues at ACP-Palazzo Franchetti, where HE Sheikha Al Mayassa later welcomed guests to two discussions organised under the auspices of Qatar Creates and its Evolution Nation initiative, celebrating fifty years of Qatar's cultural journey. Yasmeen Lari, designer of Community Centre, conversed with renowned Indian architect Raj Rewal in a discussion moderated by Sean Anderson, Associate Professor at Cornell University and co-curator of Beyti Beytak. Speaking about the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Yasmeen Lari said, 'The exhibition's theme of hospitality is about taking care of each other. So it is important to use materials that are not threatening to people and the planet and that have a certain warmth, like the bamboo of Community Centre. The decision by Her Excellency and the curators to bring Community Centre to Venice sends a very powerful message: wealth is not necessarily the criterion. It's how you treat the planet and how you treat the people.' For the second part of the conversations, H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa engaged in a discussion about the future Qatar Pavilion with Lina Ghotmeh, founder and principal of the Paris-based studio Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture, moderated by noted architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. HE Sheikha Al Mayassa said, 'This is a national pavilion that will reflect what Qatar does in the world, which is to support Arab voices across all pursuits—social, economic, and of course creative—and so it is important to have an Arab architect. Our goal is to elevate Arab creatives as well as others from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.' The Qatar Pavilion was conceived by HE Sheikha Al Mayassa with the support and guidance of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as a major new resource for the nation in its role of fostering dialogue and international exchange through its museums, exhibitions, artist residencies, heritage sites, festivals, public art installations and programmes. Envisioning the Qatar Pavilion in the Giardini as a highly important extension of this commitment, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa had requested a design that would speak to the values and histories that Qatar shares with others across its region while also engaging with the multi-layered fabric of Venice. Following the conversation with Lina Ghotmeh, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa officially opened 'Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa', ushering guests into ACP-Palazzo Franchetti's galleries and inviting them to an evening reception in the Palazzo's garden.