The efforts of Qatari institutions, led by Qatar Museums have combined to transform the country into an open museum that is bound to please all. The efforts promote the culture of visual arts in the community and in every part of the country in preparation for hosting the most prominent event which is the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which begins on Nov 20, 2022. During the World Cup, visitors to Qatar will be in the midst of a large painting, the mosaic of which was created by Qatari and international artists.
It consists of sculptures, designs, antiques and artistic paintings that express the culture of Qatari society. It also shows Qatar's celebration of cultural diversity and its interest in international arts. This large art painting is not limited to Qatar Museums, which includes a variety of museums, such as Qatar National Museum, Museum of Islamic Art, Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, DADU, Children's Museum of Qatar.
It includes the corridors and halls of cultural and educational institutions, the most important of which are the Ministry of Culture, Qatar Foundation, the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) and Qatar National Library, with the painting expressing the art and heritage in Qatar as well as the Arab and Islamic world, and its topics varying between culture, arts, literature, sports and others. Qatar Museums is working with various entities in the country on the public art programme in Qatar, including Hamad International Airport, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) to display artworks in a variety of crowded public spaces and in unexpected public spaces designed to surprise and delight passersby which include parks, shopping areas, educational and sports facilities, hotels, Hamad International Airport and metro stations, in addition to stadiums that will host the World Cup matches. HE Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums (QM) Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, said in a statement earlier that public art is one of the most prominent aspects of our cultural exchange.
Her Excellency added that these new works vary in size and shape, and include a wide range of topics, which enhances the mission of Qatar Museums to bring art closer to the masses, encourage them to participate in it, celebrate heritage, and to embrace the cultures of others. She affirmed that Qatar Museums' commitment to public art is evident throughout the country, expressing her hope that the Qatari community will welcome these works, which contribute to enriching the experiences of millions of visitors who are expected to be received in Doha this year. There are currently many artworks and sculptures in the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park, Hamad International Airport, Qatar Creative Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (M7), National Museum of Qatar, Hamad International Airport, Katara — the Cultural Village, Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) and Sidra Medicine.
Qatar Museums recently added 40 artworks, bringing the public art collection to more than 100 artworks, and which are created by more than 60 artists from Qatar, the Middle East, North Africa and around the world. Director of Public Art Management at Qatar Museum, Eng Abdulrahman al-Ishaq said in a statement to QNA, that the public art programme at Qatar Museums enhances the presence of art around us, and is not limited to museums and galleries, and pointed out that many artworks that reflect important events in the history of Qatar were installed in the Qatar National Museum and on the promenade of Lusail Marina, which is a tribute to the history of Qatar and its traditions. Al-Ishaq explained that the public art programme includes displaying the works of international, regional and Qatari artists, adding that these artworks will be displayed in the theatre park and in spaces surrounding the Museum of Islamic Art and its parks.
He said that these artworks provide an opportunity for each member of the community to contemplate and discuss them. Several international works have been shown recently by a number of artists from Germany, Brazil, America, Switzerland and other countries of the world including Arab countries. Some of these works were displayed at Sheraton Doha and will also be displayed at the Museum of Islamic Art parks, on the Ras Abu Aboud beachfront in Doha near Stadium 974, along the north shore of West Bay, at the National Theater and also at the 974 Stadium, Hamad International Airport to receive visitors with creative icons: Those coming to Qatar will find themselves in an open museum at Hamad International Airport, thanks to the artworks of the great Qatari, Arab and international artists that reflect an aspect of the country's heritage and culture as well as Gulf, Arab and international arts.
Qatar Museums, in co-operation with Hamad International Airport, displays a distinctive collection of public artworks that inspire millions of travellers, and proving that art can be enjoyed outside the walls of museums and galleries. There are many international artworks, huge murals and new sculptures that combine classicism and abstraction. Many artworks by a group of Qatari artists are also spread around Hamad International Airport, such as those of Yousef Ahmed, Mohamed al-Jaidah, Amal al-Athem and Mubarak al-Malik.
There is also sculpture of the "falcon" outside the departures building at Hamad International Airport, and a series of models of a herd of Arabian Oryx deer in the arrivals building at the airport. Thus, the passenger coming to Qatar can pass through a group of famous works of art from inside and outside the airport. Decorated bridges, tunnels and metro on the roadside, will witness the creativity, audiences will enjoy wherever they are.
Qatar Museums and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has implemented an integrated plan to add to the roads a visual painting full of beauty, which enjoys the fragrance of the past and the pulse of the heritage. It will overlook the present through graffiti art by Qatari and world artists, and inspired by Qatar's heritage, Gulf, Arab and Islamic architecture, with its arches, inscriptions, aesthetic forms, Quranic verses, proverbs, and poems. These wall paintings hold a cultural and aesthetic message, document the past and reflect on the future.
Most of these are located in the tunnels of the Salwa road, the longest road in the heart of the city. When you cross this road, you enjoy the liquid alphabet 52 graffiti arts, including the national anthem of Qatar, inspired by Qatar's heritage and highlighting Arabic calligraphy mixed with street art called Calligraffiti, by French-Tunisian artist El Seed. The Lusail highway comes in a vital area linking Doha with Lusail City, and includes many public destinations starting from the Pearl in the north through Katara and the Diplomatic area, and a large number of residential neighbourhoods, hotels and malls.
The road features a 5/6 intersection with 100m high arches with 54 huge steel pieces, reflecting a great engineering challenge, with its unique design for oblique and overlapping shape, to be the highest landmark in Qatar. Qatar Museums and the Ashghal's Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads and Public Places have also completed initiatives at the Towers Park, Doha Festival City intersection, Al Khor intersection, green Post Office square, arches, 5/6 Park, as well as at the metro stations with aesthetic fingerprints of the creators. The Committee has also launched "Zeenah" initiative expressed in "Lets Celebrate" with the aim of decorating the facades of workplaces, schools, universities, real estate, in addition to squares, roads and other public services; in the framework of celebrating Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
* World Cup stadiums are open spaces for art and beauty. The Qatar's eight World Cup stadiums are not just playing grounds, but masterpieces of art through architectural design and the Qatari and world works of art contained in their spaces and arenas. The first of them is Khalifa International Stadium, established in 1976 in Al Rayyan to host important sporting events in Qatar.
The 40-thousand-seat stadium appears well after changes, with two arches representing continuity and symbolising the embrace of worldwide fans, and connected through a short footpath to the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. Al Rayyan's Ahmed bin Ali Stadium features an exterior with symbols of some aspects of life and culture in Qatar, family bonding, the beauty of desert life, local plants and animals, local and international trade, all combined by a fifth shape similar in design to a shield, symbolising strength and togetherness that distinguish the people of Qatar, making the stadium a historical and cultural icon in Qatar. Education City stadium, based on the rich history of Islamic architecture and modernity, is characterised by a triangle facade to form complex geometric patterns resembling diamonds, and their colour seems to change with the movement of the sun across the sky, and at night, the facade presents a colourful attractive light show.
The Lusail Stadium, Lusail, reflects the character of the city, and was built in a state-of-the-art style to meet the needs of its residents, and marks a new page in the history of Qatar. It symbolises the richness of the past, the 80-thousand-fan stadium design was inspired by the overlap of light and shadow characteristic of the traditional Arab lighthouse or lantern, and the structure reflects the detailed inscriptions carried by traditional food bowls, and other pieces of art that spread throughout the Arab and Islamic world during the renaissance witnessed in the region. The 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor city with its unique design embodies the Arab tent, the authentic Bedouin life and the Arab hospitality.
The style of the traditional Arab tent is inspired by the ancestral heritage, and its design received a five-star certificate in design, and Category A rating in construction practices from the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS). Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakra shows features of the past of maritime trade and defining the city in a modern style open to the future, forming a bridge connecting the past and present, and as a strong visual symbol of Qatar's keenness to communicate with the world. It features a traditional boat sailing design for the history of the city of Al Wakra and its people's connection to the sea.
The 40-thousand-fan Al Thumama stadium, inspired by the heritage of Qatar, displays works created by Qatari artists at the main entrance in the Amiri lounge and in the VIP area. The design of the stadium, was inspired by the "Gahfiya", the traditional woven cap adorned by men and boys all across the Arab world. Football fans will experience a wonderful visual experience as they head to the 974 stadium.
Their eyes will be caught between the enchanting view of the skyscrapers across the sea, and the dazzling design of the stadium, which is considered the first-of-its-kind in the history of the World Cup. The use of licensed shipping containers and removable steel elements to build the 974 stadium was a unique element that distinguishes the stadium from the rest of the World Cup hosting facilities, and it is in amazing harmony with the nearby Port of Doha and the ancient maritime heritage of Qatar. .
