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Qatar is gaining ground in the Gulf Countries’ race to become the ultimate cultural destination.
Doha is not a usual cultural destination; the only reasons why people get to visit Doha are pretty much just business or layovers between flights to more exotic destinations, even though curiosity must be growing due to all the fuss around the apparently mysterious winning of the 2022 Soccer World Cup bid.
Together with all other Gulf Countries Doha is taking part in the race to attain cultural credibility. Abu Dhabi, for example, is gaining ground with its magnificent museum projects (including a Solomon Guggenheim and even a branch of the Louvre), but Doha is moving very fast and with a precise strategy.
In the quest for popularity, Doha decided to walk the different path of preserving and enriching its very own culture by fostering Arabic art, which means showing the world that Arabic culture and art is not a world apart, but that it has always been melded with both western and far eastern cultures.
With this objective in mind, this old pearl fishing village got itself two absolute pearls in the Museum of Islamic Art and the Mathaf, but even more are on the way.
Before diving in to the discovery of Arabic arts, you may want to stop first at the Islamic Cultural Center, to get a glimpse of what Islamic culture is about.
The Babel tower shaped building is home to a cultural center which aims to introduce people to Islamic culture. On walking in you will be approached by a friendly officer who will offer you tea and will give you some booklets (in your own language) about Islam and Arabic culture. You then enter the main downstairs room and take a look at the wide graphic on the walls displaying the interaction of Arabic world history with the rest of the world, and the interaction of Islam religion with other faiths. If you spend some minutes reading the short descriptions of Islamic customs and behavior you will be pretty well ready to enjoy the rest of your visit to Doha with a deeper awareness.
The Museum of Islamic Art alone is worth the visit to Doha. Designed by I. M. Pei, the legendary Louvre Pyramid architect, the building looks like a combination of superimposed geometric shapes, culminating in a parallelepiped that almost reminds you of a Qatari woman’s face, traditionally covered by the hijab but revealing her eyes, and protecting the city with her gaze.
When you will walk in, you will be attracted to the wide windows looking over the water with the West Bay skyline in the background. While sitting and having a coffee and enjoying the view, just look around you and discover, glimpse by glimpse, the many aspects of the gravity – challenging architecture.
The collections feature a selection of masterpieces from the 10th century to the present age, organized in a precise journey through the discovery of Islamic art, but the museum also hosts an average of two big exhibitions a year featuring western masters’ masterpieces.
The Mathaf (Arab Museum of Modern Art) is the real surprise. Created to exhibit to the public the extensive H.E. Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani’s (The Emir of Qatar) art collection, it opened its doors on the 30th December 2010.
Practical note: if you are new in town you’d better get clear directions to reach it, as the taxi drivers won’t be of any help and you’ll need to reach the edge of the city.
The museum is located in a white anonymous building; you will probably be the only visitor, and in the beginning you will think there is not much more than the theatrical “Animals’ arch” installations in front of the building.
However, when you wander around the many rooms, you will realize how huge and valuable H. E. the Emir’s collection is. So huge that it can’t be displayed all together at the same time, it must be organized in themed temporary exhibitions, providing extensive descriptions to enhance the visitors’ enjoyment of these works of art. You will discover that most modern Arab artists have trained themselves by looking at western art, and you will easily recognize here and there some Miro and Picasso influences, or an Impressionist’s flare. You won’t be surprised when reading the labels that most of the artists have died or are currently living in a western country.
Qatar’s ambition to become a cultural destination is not yet satisfied, and it will reach its climax with the New National Museum project, designed by no less than Jean Nouvel (Torre Agbar, Barcelona). The building will feature the petal-like shapes of the desert rose stone formations found under the desert sand, acknowledging the desert Bedouin cultures of Qatar. It’s meant to become the most iconic building in Doha, and the first thing tourists will spot when landing at the airport. But that is still in the future, we’ll talk about it in a few years time.
