Latest news with #NationalMuseumofQatar
ILoveQatar.net
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ILoveQatar.net
8 must-see things at the LATINOAMERICANO exhibit at the National Museum of Qatar
LATINOAMERICANO is the landmark exhibit of the Qatar Argentina and Chile 2025 Year of Culture, hosted at the National Museum of Qatar. It's in collaboration with Modern and Contemporary Art from the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba) and Eduardo F. Costantini Collections. It's the first large-scale presentation of Latin American art in the region. The exhibit features over 170 multidisciplinary artworks that explore Latin America's culture and identity. The (ILQ) team has visited the exhibit and is here to tell you some of the artwork and pieces you shouldn't miss! Sculpture of Dreams by Marta Minujin Ever wanted to walk through a giant, colourful piece of art? 😍 🎨 Sculpture of Dreams by Marta Minujin is a new outdoor art installation at the National Museum of Qatar as part of the Qatar, Argentina, and Chile Year of Culture 2025. ✨ The installation invites visitors to… — ILoveQatar - Live (@ILQLive) April 28, 2025 Before you enter the LATINAMERICANO exhibit, be sure to visit the Sculpture of Dreams by conceptual pop artist Marta Minujin in the outdoor area of the National Museum of Qatar. This sculpture once adorned New York's Times Square and is now in Doha, offering an immersive experience. Visitors can walk through the sculpture's interior and be surrounded by vibrant colours, and are encouraged to whisper their hopes and wishes before leaving. Frida Kahlo's corner One thing you definitely shouldn't miss is Frida Kahlo's corner of the exhibit, featuring her Self Portrait with Monkey and Parrot. Created in 1942, this oil painting is one of Frida's famous self-portraits and showcases her with two animal companions, just like many of her works: a monkey and a parrot. Witness her signature vibrant art style that accentuates her striking features. Frida Kahlo's red and yellow huipil, a cotton blouse worn by Mexican women, is also displayed. Seeing this creates the surreal feeling of Frida's life becoming tangible, as you encounter an actual piece of her clothing. You'll find a handkerchief with Frida's handwriting and a mark of her lipstick beside it, too. The display also includes various photos and portraits throughout Frida Kahlo's life. Quipu Desaparecido (Disappeared Quipu) by Cecilia Vicuña A multi-sensory installation to check out is A Poem in Space by Cecilia Vicuña. The piece showcases the ancient art of record-keeping called quipu, which involves tying knots on fabric or strings. In early centuries, various cultures in South America used tied knots to store information based on dimensions like colour, order, and number. This method of record-keeping was also used to store poems and historical accounts. Her installation Quipu Desaparecido pays homage to this, accompanied by projected scenes and ambient sounds, meant to tell the story of how early civilisations suffered from Spanish colonisation. Analogy IV by Víctor Grippo Analogy IV by Víctor Grippo is an interesting piece that contrasts artificial and organic elements. You'll find a set for two, with the left side featuring a black tablecloth, an acrylic plate, cutlery, and artificial potatoes, while the right side displays a white tablecloth, a ceramic plate, metal cutlery, and three real potatoes. Another interesting piece to see is the Inserções em circuitos ideológicos: Projeto Coca-Cola by Cildo Meireles. Three Coca-Cola bottles are on display with varying levels of fullness. The artist had printed political messages and artwork on the bottles in white ink, using similar branding that becomes almost invisible when the bottle is empty. Reportedly, these bottles were released back into the market through bottle return systems, where factories failed to notice the messages on empty bottles, refilled them, and returned them to the market for consumers to encounter the messages unsuspectingly. These bottles were circulated in Brazil during a time of military dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985. 8 Sobrevivientes (8 Survivors) by Eugenio Dittborn 8 Sobrevivientes is part of Eugenio Dittborn's conceptual Airmail Series and depicts 8 various portraits of survivors who represent those who were censored or "disappeared" during Chile's military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The piece is meant to be displayed with its envelope and showcases creases and tears, emphasizing the struggles of its journey. Make sure to read the text within the artwork to learn more about some of the survivors' stories. Sinusoide by Oscar Bony Oscar Bony is another conceptual artist whose work has deep political themes. His piece Sinusoide takes the form and pattern of a sine wave, symbolizing political powers that control and enforce censorship over society. Constellations by Kosice Constellations by Kosice is a beautiful, luminous artwork meant to represent stars and galaxies. Take in the piece as a whole and how the lights take shape, and step closer to see the intricate details and images embedded that can only be seen up close. Details
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Art Basel arrives in Qatar
After being announced as the first country in three decades to construct a permanent national pavilion at the Giardini gardens at the prestigious Venice Biennale, Qatar will also now host the newest art fair in the region. Following the launch of Art Basel Paris in 2022, the MCH Group – owner of Art Basel – has announced the inaugural edition of Art Basel in Qatar. To take place in February 2026 in Doha – at M7 creative hub and Doha Design District in downtown Msheireb, close to cultural landmarks including National Museum of Qatar – the event has been announced in partnership with leading Qatari organisations such as Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+. In a statement, Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums said, 'As part of His Highness the Amir's National Vision 2030, Qatar has been transforming itself into a knowledge-based economy, with culture and the creative industries helping to lead the way. We have built a thriving ecosystem of culture and sports, harnessing the capacity of both to break down barriers, create shared experiences, increase understanding and drive positive change. We have opened the National Museum of Qatar and the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, and this year we will launch the Lusail Museum and DADU: Children's Museum of Qatar.' A post shared by UBS Art (@ubsglobalart) While the region already boasts of other art fairs such as Art Dubai, Abu Dhabi Art, the entry of a prestigious property like Art Basel – which is one of the oldest art fairs on the circuit, founded by three Swiss art dealers in 1970 – backing the fair, strengthens the perception of the Middle East as a potentially important market for art. Noah Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Art Basel, says, 'Growing the global art market, supporting artists and galleries and developing new collecting audiences is core to Art Basel's mission. The art scene across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region has undergone exponential growth in recent decades, with the establishment of world-class institutions, the launch of leading cultural events and the growth of a vibrant community of artists, galleries and professionals.'
Qatar Tribune
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
QM to mark Int'l Museum Day with free entrance to museums, fun events
Tribune News Network DOHA To mark the International Museum Day, Qatar Museums (QM) has announced free admission to its museums and exhibitions on Sunday, May 18, and a wide array of educational activities. This initiative continues QM's annual tradition of marking International Museum Day by offering residents and visitors to Qatar complimentary access to its renowned network of cultural institutions. 'Amid ongoing changes in how we live, connect, and sustain our planet, museums must evolve to remain not only relevant, but essential,' said CEO of Qatar Museums, Mohammed Saad Al-Rumaihi. 'At Qatar Museums, we see this moment as an opportunity to reimagine our role—not just as custodians of heritage, but as active participants in shaping inclusive, resilient, and forward-looking communities.' Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the National Museum of Qatar, the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic Sports Museum, as well as all QM temporary exhibitions free of charge. International Museum Day is held annually on May 18 and is a global celebration of museums and their importance in promoting cultural understanding and exchange. This year's theme, The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities, focuses on how museums can navigate and contribute to a world undergoing profound social, technological, and environmental shifts. Residents and visitors are invited to experience the third edition of the Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar 2025 through eight compelling exhibitions across the city. Discover As I Lay Between Two Seas, Tasweer's central exhibition, which is on display at the Fire Station: Artist in Residence, alongside Al-Mihrab by Khalid Al-Musallamany, an intimate study of places of worship in Qatar; After The Game, capturing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022; and Garangao 2025, a photographic tribute to the cherished Qatari tradition. Visit Refractions: Tasweer Project Awards at Katara Cultural Village which is showcasing works by 18 contemporary Arab photographers exploring belonging and identity. Also on view is Obliteration: Surviving the Inferno: Gaza's Battle for Existence, a powerful outdoor installation documenting the ongoing war in Gaza. At Msheireb's Company House, visitors can explore Threads of Light: Stories from the Tasweer Single Image Awards, which features 32 winning photographs from the 2023 and 2024 editions. In addition to free entrance, Qatar Museums is also organising a cohort of exciting events and activities across its various entities: The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) will host a creative workshop for children on May 18 from 9:30 am – 10.30 am, titled Design Your Own Museum Building. The participants will base their designs on a special artifact or object that represents Qatar's history, inspired by the country's rich culture, nature and heritage. Separately, NMoQ will also provide a photo frame station for visitors to take commemorative pictures and will hand out crossword puzzles and gallery response sheets for visitors. The museum is currently hosting LATINOAMERICANO: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Malba and Eduardo Costantini Collections—the first major exhibition in the WANA region dedicated to Latin America's modern and contemporary art. This landmark showcase will be on view until July 19.
CNN
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Why there's a huge collection of vintage cars stored in the middle of the desert
Back at the turn of the 21st century, Qatar was a country with few cultural attractions to keep visitors and residents entertained. Yet the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum — known as the FBQ Museum — was a place that most people visited as an alternative to the then-still rather ramshackle National Museum of Qatar. You had to make an appointment, and drive out into the desert, getting lost a few times along the way, but then you were welcomed to the lush Al Samriya Farm with a cup of tea and some cake. The highlight was being allowed into a space crammed full with shelves and vitrines holding all sorts of eclectic artifacts from swords to coins — with the odd car and carriage standing in the grounds. It wasn't necessarily the kind of museum you'd find elsewhere in the world, but it was definitely a sight that needed seeing. Today, it has grown and now claims to be one of the world's largest private museums. It holds over 30,000 items, including a fleet of traditional dhow sailboats, and countless carpets. There's also an entire house that once stood in Damascus, Syria. There are archaeological finds dating to the Jurassic age, ancient copies of the Quran, a section that details the importance of pearling within Qatar's history, and jewelry dating to the 17th century. There are also items from 2022's FIFA World Cup in Qatar including replica trophies, balls used in the games, entry passes, football jerseys and even shelves full of slightly creepy dolls and children's plush animals. Some of the more disturbing exhibits include various items of Third Reich paraphernalia in the wartime room, and, strangely enough, several showcases of birds' legs with marking rings on them. Basically, whatever you can think of, you have a very good chance of finding it here. Rumor even has it that behind a locked door is a room filled with the late Princess Diana's dresses and other memorabilia, accessible only to a select few visitors. Another door hides a room, no longer open to the public, filled with collectibles of the late Saddam Hussein. The museum's history starts in 1998, when Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani opened a building to the public on his farm some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Qatari capital Doha. A distant relative of Qatar's ruling family, founder and chairman of Al Faisal Holdings (one of Qatar's biggest conglomerates), and a billionaire whose business acumen had him recognized as one of the most influential Arab businessmen in the world, Sheikh Faisal had already amassed a substantial private collection of historically important regional artifacts, plus a few quirky pieces of interest, allowing visitors an intimate look into Qatari life and history. In an interview with Qatari channel Alrayyan TV in 2018, Sheikh Faisal said that the museum started as a hobby. 'I used to collect items whenever I got the chance,' he said. 'As my business grew, so did my collections, and soon I was able to collect more and more items until I decided to put them in the museum for the public to enjoy.' His private cabinet of curiosities has since evolved into a 130-acre complex. Through the fort-like entrance gate lies an oryx reserve, an impressive riding school and stables, a duck pond and a mosque built with a quirky leaning minaret. There's now even a five-star Marriott hotel, two cafes and the Zoufa restaurant serving modern Lebanese cuisine. Of course, there's also the super-sized museum, with a recently-opened car collection housing everything from vintage Rolls-Royces to wartime Jeeps and colorful Buicks. Outside you'll find peacocks roaming the grounds, and signs warning drivers to be aware of horses and ostriches. Visitors to the FBQ museum are free to explore the grounds and can even enter the stables to pat the horses. Siham Haleem, a private tour guide for 15 years, says that Doha now has many world-class, modern museums — the National Museum of Qatar being a firm personal favorite. And yet he says that visiting Sheikh Faisal's museum should still be on everybody's to-do list. 'For those eager to learn about Qatar's — and the region's — heritage and beyond, the museum is an ideal destination,' he says. 'Personally, I'm captivated by the car collection, the fossils, and especially the Syrian house, painstakingly transported and reassembled piece by piece.' Stephanie Y. Martinez, a Mexican-American student mobility manager at Texas A&M University in Qatar likes the museum so much she includes it on all of her itineraries for students visiting from the main campus in Texas. 'The guided tours are very detailed, and the collections found at the museum have great variety and so many stories to unfold,' she says. 'Truly, the museum has something to pique everyone's interest. My favorites are the cars and the furniture exhibits showcasing wood and mother-of-pearl details. Definitely one of my favorite museums in Qatar, every time I visit I learn something new.' Raynor Abreu, from India, also had praise for the unusual and immense collection. 'Each item has its own story, making the visit even more interesting,' he says. 'It's also impressive to know that Sheikh Faisal started collecting these unique pieces when he was very young. Knowing this makes the museum even more special, as it reflects his lifelong passion for history and culture.' It takes time and dedication to truly examine the many collections within the museum — especially since most of them are simply on display without explanation. Eclectic it may be, but it's hard to fault the determination of Sheikh Faisal, who has brought together items that tell the story of Qatar and the Middle East. Sarah Bayley, from the UK, says she visited the museum recently with her family, including 16 and 19-year-old teenagers, and was won over by its sheer eccentricity. 'Amazing. Loved it. It is a crazy place.'
CNN
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Why there's a huge collection of vintage cars stored in the middle of the desert
Back at the turn of the 21st century, Qatar was a country with few cultural attractions to keep visitors and residents entertained. Yet the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum — known as the FBQ Museum — was a place that most people visited as an alternative to the then-still rather ramshackle National Museum of Qatar. You had to make an appointment, and drive out into the desert, getting lost a few times along the way, but then you were welcomed to the lush Al Samriya Farm with a cup of tea and some cake. The highlight was being allowed into a space crammed full with shelves and vitrines holding all sorts of eclectic artifacts from swords to coins — with the odd car and carriage standing in the grounds. It wasn't necessarily the kind of museum you'd find elsewhere in the world, but it was definitely a sight that needed seeing. Today, it has grown and now claims to be one of the world's largest private museums. It holds over 30,000 items, including a fleet of traditional dhow sailboats, and countless carpets. There's also an entire house that once stood in Damascus, Syria. There are archaeological finds dating to the Jurassic age, ancient copies of the Quran, a section that details the importance of pearling within Qatar's history, and jewelry dating to the 17th century. There are also items from 2022's FIFA World Cup in Qatar including replica trophies, balls used in the games, entry passes, football jerseys and even shelves full of slightly creepy dolls and children's plush animals. Some of the more disturbing exhibits include various items of Third Reich paraphernalia in the wartime room, and, strangely enough, several showcases of birds' legs with marking rings on them. Basically, whatever you can think of, you have a very good chance of finding it here. Rumor even has it that behind a locked door is a room filled with the late Princess Diana's dresses and other memorabilia, accessible only to a select few visitors. Another door hides a room, no longer open to the public, filled with collectibles of the late Saddam Hussein. The museum's history starts in 1998, when Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani opened a building to the public on his farm some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Qatari capital Doha. A distant relative of Qatar's ruling family, founder and chairman of Al Faisal Holdings (one of Qatar's biggest conglomerates), and a billionaire whose business acumen had him recognized as one of the most influential Arab businessmen in the world, Sheikh Faisal had already amassed a substantial private collection of historically important regional artifacts, plus a few quirky pieces of interest, allowing visitors an intimate look into Qatari life and history. In an interview with Qatari channel Alrayyan TV in 2018, Sheikh Faisal said that the museum started as a hobby. 'I used to collect items whenever I got the chance,' he said. 'As my business grew, so did my collections, and soon I was able to collect more and more items until I decided to put them in the museum for the public to enjoy.' His private cabinet of curiosities has since evolved into a 130-acre complex. Through the fort-like entrance gate lies an oryx reserve, an impressive riding school and stables, a duck pond and a mosque built with a quirky leaning minaret. There's now even a five-star Marriott hotel, two cafes and the Zoufa restaurant serving modern Lebanese cuisine. Of course, there's also the super-sized museum, with a recently-opened car collection housing everything from vintage Rolls-Royces to wartime Jeeps and colorful Buicks. Outside you'll find peacocks roaming the grounds, and signs warning drivers to be aware of horses and ostriches. Visitors to the FBQ museum are free to explore the grounds and can even enter the stables to pat the horses. Siham Haleem, a private tour guide for 15 years, says that Doha now has many world-class, modern museums — the National Museum of Qatar being a firm personal favorite. And yet he says that visiting Sheikh Faisal's museum should still be on everybody's to-do list. 'For those eager to learn about Qatar's — and the region's — heritage and beyond, the museum is an ideal destination,' he says. 'Personally, I'm captivated by the car collection, the fossils, and especially the Syrian house, painstakingly transported and reassembled piece by piece.' Stephanie Y. Martinez, a Mexican-American student mobility manager at Texas A&M University in Qatar likes the museum so much she includes it on all of her itineraries for students visiting from the main campus in Texas. 'The guided tours are very detailed, and the collections found at the museum have great variety and so many stories to unfold,' she says. 'Truly, the museum has something to pique everyone's interest. My favorites are the cars and the furniture exhibits showcasing wood and mother-of-pearl details. Definitely one of my favorite museums in Qatar, every time I visit I learn something new.' Raynor Abreu, from India, also had praise for the unusual and immense collection. 'Each item has its own story, making the visit even more interesting,' he says. 'It's also impressive to know that Sheikh Faisal started collecting these unique pieces when he was very young. Knowing this makes the museum even more special, as it reflects his lifelong passion for history and culture.' It takes time and dedication to truly examine the many collections within the museum — especially since most of them are simply on display without explanation. Eclectic it may be, but it's hard to fault the determination of Sheikh Faisal, who has brought together items that tell the story of Qatar and the Middle East. Sarah Bayley, from the UK, says she visited the museum recently with her family, including 16 and 19-year-old teenagers, and was won over by its sheer eccentricity. 'Amazing. Loved it. It is a crazy place.'
