Qatar Museums Chairperson H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (right) during a session at Qatar Economic Forum 2022. PIC: Amr Diab
Doha: Only months away of the country’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Qatar Museums Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has said that Qatar is “open to the world, and we want the world to be embracing and respectful to our culture.”
Sheikha Al Mayassa said this in her takeaway message during yesterday’s Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg, during the session “The Role of Sport in the Game of Life.”
The chairperson added that to “understand the roots of tradition and we do certain things the way we do and we’re open for conversations.”
During the first part of the session, she said that the World Cup is an “exciting event for Qatar and the Arab world.”
She said that Qatar has been doing cultural programmes throughout the decade prior to the hosting of the quadrennial sporting event, including the Years of Culture which was initiated in 2010.
“This year, it’s the year of MENASA, where we celebrate the year of diversity of cultures in the Arab world to really focus on culture and to make it as important as a sporting event.”
The country expects a staggering 1.5 million visitors for the international football competition.
“The beauty about Qatar is it’s a compact country, and people who can attend the games and go to the stadiums can actually visit all of our exhibitions, so we’re very excited, there are interesting exhibitions about the Arab world that we are showcasing for the very first time,” Sheikha Al Mayassa explained.
“We’re trying to show the diversity of the Arab world, but also we want people to experience Qatar as it really is,” she noted.
Qatar Museums is hosting various exhibitions, public art installations and opening new museums.
These are installation of 18 new public artworks, a joint exhibition about the Abbasid State for over 500 years; re-opening of the Museum of Islamic Art showcasing never before seen works and arts; an exhibition on the future museum – Lusail Museum that will display the world’s most extensive collection of Orientalist paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures, rare texts, and applied arts; a future, modern and contemporary art museum will also be introduced with Art Mill. And, an exhibition with Al Jazeera’s 25th year anniversary, where she pointed out that had put “Qatar in the map 25 years ago.”
Exhibitions of the world of football that talks about Arab football players can be seen at the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, which is next to Khalifa International Stadium, one of the venues of the World Cup. A Valentino exhibition will also take place for the very first time in Qatar.
Moreover, heritage sites will also be activated. One particular project is the Ain Mohammed, located in Al Shamal where the people activating it are the descendants of the original family and tribes who lived there many centuries ago. And across that village, a new installation in the desert will be placed.
Sheikha Al Mayassa pointed out that creative and cultural industries are important drivers and have potential for economic growth. A notable example is M7, Qatar’s epicentre for innovation and entrepreneurship in design, fashion and technology.
The said exhibitions will open before the World Cup and will continue until the end of March, and beginning of April 2023, making this accessible to people who didn’t get the chance to visit it during the sporting event.
