BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: A Turkish Festival and Bazaar, an exhibition by a globally renowned artist, and the kick-off of the “Artist in Residence” programme are few in the long list of events Qatar Museums (QM) is set to offer to the public this Autumn.
QM yesterday announced a rich line-up of major exhibitions and cultural events in the next four months, most of which are related to the celebration of Qatar Turkey year of Culture.
Twenty Qatari and Qatar-based artists will start their residency in the middle of this month at the newly renovated Fire Station.
“Our residency programme extends over nine months, after which we will have another group of artists for the next cycle,” Fire Station Director Hala Al Khalifa said at a media event yesterday at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA).
As part of the programme, award winning young Turkish artist Özgeçmis Özkan Ari will complete a month-long guest residency at Qatar’s new artist development and residency centre.
Following the success “555” exhibition currently enjoys, the Garage Gallery will host another very important expo in the coming year, Al Khalifa added.
“The Hunt: Princely Pursuits in Islamic Lands” opens at the MIA Museum of Special Exhibitions Gallery on September 16 to January 9.
Part of the Qatar Turkey celebrations, the expo will showcase rare objects from the collections of MIA and Turkish Islamic art museum such as pottery and tools used in hunting in the past, said Sheikha Al Nasser, head of exhibitions section at MIA.
The Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art will launch “Focus: Works from Mathaf Collection” exhibition on October 12. The four-month long expo offers a glimpse into some of the most iconic works from over 9,000 collection of Mathaf. The eexhibition presents five solo shows including Saloua Raouda Choucair (Lebanon), Inji Efflatoun (Egypt), Farid Belkahia (Morocco), Faraj Daham (Qatar), and Abdulhalim Al-Radwi (Saudi Arabia).
On October 18 QM will present a retrospective of the work of Belgian artist Luc Tuymans recognised as one of the most important living painters today.
His first solo show in the Gulf region, “Intolerance” is a comprehensive survey of the artist’s work which will include a series of wall paintings and a new body of work, ‘The Arena’, created specifically for the show.
The Turkish Festival and Bazaar is scheduled from October 28 to 31 at the MIA Park. The festival will see performances by Turkey’s leading musicians and dancers, a Karagoz shadow play and workshop, calligraphy and marbling classes and exhibitions of photography and historic Turkish Film Posters. It will include a bazaar, Turkish tea house, stages, food stalls and a children’s area.
Other exhibitions and cultural activities which form an important part of the Qatar Turkey Year of Culture include the “Magnificent Century, TheExhibition, Special Edition: Harem Al Sultan”(September 17 to December 12, QM Gallery), “Turkish Treasures Gallery Trail” (September onwards, MIA), and “Archaeology and Heritage Conservation in Turkey Lectures” (September to November, UCL Qatar/MIA).
The Peninsula
