Qatar Creates will kick off its spring and summer programme with exhibition openings, film screenings, talks and workshops from March 10-18, putting a spotlight on art, culture and creativity, Qatar Museums (QM) has announced.
“Each year at the spring gathering of Qatar Creates, we present a wide-ranging cultural programme that celebrates the diversity and talent of the nation and illuminates major topics of local, regional, and international interest,” QM and Doha Film Institute (DFI) Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said in a statement.
“The exciting programme planned for this March exemplifies all that Qatar Creates offers: showcasing Qatari cinema through DFI events, highlighting the perspectives of outstanding local and regional photographers at Tasweer, raising fascinating and urgent issues through Olafur Eliasson’s remarkable installations and projects, and much more,” she said.
Among the highlights are the DFI’s 9th edition of Qumra 2023, the opening of the 2nd biennial Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar, and the debut of several art exhibitions, including the first solo exhibition of Eliasson’s work in the Gulf region.
At a press conference yesterday, Tasweer Photo Festival and Fire Station director Khalifa al-Obaidli said: “Our vision for Tasweer is to provide a platform for innovative photographers and photographic communities from Qatar and the Western Asia and North Africa region.”
Tasweer features multiple temporary exhibitions and heritage site installations such as the Doha Fashion Fridays at M7, a collaborative project initiated in 2017 on Instagram by artists Khalid Albaih and Aparna Jayakumar.
“We also have at M7, ‘A Chance to Breathe’, a project which presents the photographs of Azimul Hasson, Dil Kayas and Omal Khair, documenting their daily life and Rohingya community at the largest refugee camp in the world,” al-Obaidli said. “The exhibition also aims to train and support the three artists.”
Tasweer will reactivate two site-specific exhibitions from March 14 to May 20:
  • “My Mother Lulwa’s House”, an installation by Qatari artist Mashael al-Hejaz at Majlis Barahat Al Jufair
  • “And Thereafter”, an immersive installation at Al Koot Fort, on the edge of Souq Waqif, created by Hadeer Omar in collaboration with Sonic Jeel and Katia Kolovea.
Tasweer will also present “I Am The Traveler And Also The Road” exhibition at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.
Created by photographers living in West Asia and North Africa region, this exhibition features the 12 recipients of Tasweer’s Sheikh Saoud al-Thani Project Award grants in 2021 and 2022.
On March 17, Mathaf will open “Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility”, a multidisciplinary exhibition co-curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath.
Qatar Creates Week will inaugurate Eliasson’s “The curious desert” exhibition on March 19, which brings together 12 new site-specific installations located near the Al Thakhira Mangrove in Northern Qatar within a Sabkha habitat (flat salt-encrusted desert), and an extensive gallery presentation at the National Museum of Qatar, Exhibitions and Heritage Exhibit Section head Bouthayna Baltaji said.
The exhibition follows the QM’s October 2022 unveiling of Eliasson’s outdoor artwork, titled Shadows travelling on the sea of the day, at the desert outside of the Ain Mohamed heritage site in northern Qatar.
QM Public Art director Abdulrahman al-Ishaq said two new installations will be unveiled as part of the Qatar Creates week: artworks by Franz West, and Peter Fischli and David Weiss.
The QM’s Public Art will also hold the 2nd edition of the international mural festival, “World Wide Walls, Doha”, among other events.
“In 2023, we will be continuing to expand our public art programme through a series of open calls to continue supporting local talents,” al-Ishaq said.
Qatar Creates is partnering with Clown Skateboard x Paris Saint-Germain on the release of an exclusive capsule collection on March 15 at the Doha Fire Station, combining skateboarding, apparel, and digital art.
The Doha capsule range is inspired by calligraffiti artist Fatima al-Sharshani.
Qatar Creates also brings a range of ongoing exhibitions such as the “Lusail Museum: Tales of a Connected World” at Al Riwaq, “Art Mill Museum 2030” at Qatar Flour Mill, “Forever Valentino” at M7, “World of Football” at 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, “A Living Tradition of Japanese Pottery” at the Museum of Islamic Art, and “Experience Al Jazeera” at Doha Fire Station.