The country’s rich ancient legacy is primed for a promising future with many institutions dedicated to the cause
Fine artists enjoy special attention in Qatar as there are many institutions — academic institutions, cultural and social institutions, and others — all of which aim to prepare a new generation of Qatari fine artists to make their mark on the local and international scene in the field.
The most important state institutions are Qatar Museums, Ministry of Culture and Sports, Cultural Village Foundation – Katara and Qatar Fine Arts Society, in addition to a number of academic and private institutions, whose efforts are all combined to consolidate the presence of Qatari fine art on the global art scene.
Qatar Museums are considered one of the most important institutions incubating fine art creativity. Since its inception, it has sought to create a new generation of Qatari talent.
Qatar Museums is also keen on supporting the next generation of cultural audiences while promoting the spirit of national participation and becoming a source of inspiration for audiences and producers of the future.
In order to realise these goals, Qatar Museums has identified three strategic priorities:
lTaking Museums Beyond Four Walls — taking the cultural experience beyond the four walls of a museum into the world at large so that more people can take part.
lNurturing Emerging Talent — creating the conditions for creativity and cultivating new talent, inspiring the next generation of cultural producers.
lCreating a Platform for the Voice of Qatar — taking the distinctive place within global debates on culture and creativity, having Qatar’s own cultural message, and highlighting its stars.
Fine art in Qatar is based on an ancient legacy, as reaffirmed by Qatari fine artist Hassan al-Mulla, who said in a statement to QNA, that since the beginning of the Sixties, Qatar began to send talented students abroad for academic study to sharpen their talents and develop their experiences.
The first student who was sent abroad to study was the late artist Jassim Zaini, who studied at Baghdad College of Fine Arts.
After his graduation at the end of the Sixties, he was able to light the first candle that illuminated the path for the rest, who were sent to Arab and foreign countries to pursue higher studies in Europe and the United States.
Al-Mulla said the Qatari environment has always kept pace with the artist’s dreams and constituted a rich resource for art.
Besides Qatar Museums and its keenness on spreading the Qatari creativity locally and abroad, there is also the Qatar Fine Arts Society which has attracted audience over the past decades to introduce Qatari artists and worked to promote art appreciation.
The Society provided artists participating in its exhibitions with the opportunity to sell their works and gain exposure, and young talented and amateurs with an opportunity to excel and shine by launching competitions and prizes, al-Mulla said.
Meanwhile, the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara emerged as a world-class cultural and artistic landmark, al-Mulla added, stressing that all these efforts from various institutions accelerate the fine art mobility in line with the comprehensive renaissance in Qatar, which is preparing to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
For her part, fine artist Jameela al-Shraim underlined Qatar’s great attention to local talents in order to make the country a global cultural destination through monitoring artistic methods and experiences over the years in various artistic fields, and the paths taken by new talent, which is still forming and growing.
Al-Shraim noted that the Qatari fine art movement has highlighted the role of Qatari women artists in building art and pushing the development movement since the Eighties.
Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf)
Artist Mohamed Ali Abdullah said Qatar has seen a tremendous development in fine art thanks to the state institutions’ sponsorship, which have not only paid attention to the renaissance of fine art in the country, but also contributed to the advancement of fine art through the establishment of the Arab Museum of Modern Art that represents a milestone in the development of fine art in Qatar and the Arab world.
Artist Salman al-Malik, Director of the Visual Arts Center of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, said fine art in Qatar is one of the most important and active cultural fields, noting that activities such as exhibitions, workshops and lectures are organised almost every day at the level of academic institutions or governmental and private cultural institutions.
Katara Prize for Arabic Novel
Launched in 2014, Katara Prize for Arabic Novel was able to consolidate the presence of distinguished Arab novels on the Arab and international levels, and has worked to encourage and appreciate creative Arab novelists to seek broader horizons for creativity and distinction, and to increase cultural and knowledge awareness.
On the Arab cultural impact made by the Prize, General Supervisor of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, Khaled Abdulrahim al-Sayed, said the most important characteristic of the award is that it is an integrated Arab project to serve the Arabic novel, and it has been recognised by the Arab culture ministers in 2016 following the adoption of Katara’s proposal to approve the International Day for Arabic Novel, which was agreed by an Arab consensus in 2018, in cooperation with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Alecso). Regarding the festival accompanying the prize ceremony this year, which kicks off on October 12, Al Sayed said the festival will include many activities this year; most importantly, the launch of the magazine Sardiyat, which is the first international refereed magazine issued by Katara.
Four periodical books specialised in the novel will be inaugurated, in addition, to the issuance of 30 novels and studies in Arabic and English for all the winning works in the fifth edition.
The sixth edition of Katara Prize for Arabic Novel chose Iraqi novelist Ghaib Tuma Farman to the “Person of the Year”, in the context of an annual tradition that the Prize Committee has used to celebrate an Arab literary figure, who left a clear imprint on the march of Arab literature.
The sixth edition of the prestigious Katara Prize for Arabic Novel has achieved a record participation with a total of 2,220 entries in various categories.
A total prize money of $635,000 will be distributed to this year’s winners to be awarded on October 13 in line with the International Day of Arabic Novel.
Musical creativity and preservation of the Qatari identity
The Ministry of Culture and Sports is keen on musical creativity. Therefore, it established the Center of Music Affairs to be a platform for this art, starting with words and melodies, and even musical performance.
The centre’s inception in 2007 came to provide everything that would contribute to the development of music, especially spreading the musical culture to create a generation of creative musicians in Qatar, and to adopt musical projects that elevate the society’s taste, preserve its cultural identity and preserve the rich heritage of the Qatari musical movement.
In the context of achieving the centre’s goal of preserving the privacy of Qatari music, the centre dedicated an annual celebration organised under the title “The Night of the Qatari Song” to show the aesthetics of the Qatari song.
HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali underlined that Qatari singing was an expression of the authentic conscience of the Qataris and is still a true interpretation of their hopes and national bonds.
The minister noted that the modern Qatari song witnessed a development benefiting from the types of modern singing, heritage and contemporary music, and new singing voices that have emerged to give the Qatari song a new verve on the Arab art scene.
Year of Culture
Qatar Museums announced that the United States will be the official partner nation of Qatar for the 2021 Year of Culture.
A co-operative agreement was signed between Qatar and the United States during the 2020 Qatar-United States Strategic Dialogue in Washington, DC.
The Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture is intended to enhance cultural and artistic exchange and exemplifies the renewed commitment of the two nations to foster mutual understanding and promote intercultural dialogue.
The specially curated 2021 Year of Culture will feature a wide-ranging programme of exhibitions, festivals, bilateral exchanges, and events to be held in both nations.
HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums, said: “We inaugurated the Year of Culture programme in celebrating Qatar’s successful bid to host the World Cup in 2022.”
“We started our programme in 2012 celebrating Qatar-Japan’s 40 years of bilateral relations. We continued to celebrate cities hosting the World Cup, with Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018.
“The yearlong programme celebrates two nations and the diversity of its people and cultures.
“Today, it brings me great pleasure to announce that 2021 will be the Year of Culture between Qatar-USA.
“Qatar will host the next World Cup in 2022 and the USA will bring the next version to its grounds in 2026.
“Culture goes beyond the arts, it’s a measure of lifestyle that extends to all areas of life.
“We celebrate culture, sports, business, education, music and much more.
“I look forward to working on building on the existing strong relationship between our nations, and explore new opportunities together.
“The Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture is based on the long-standing diplomatic relations established between the two countries in 1972.” — QNA
Glorious heritage: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf).
