Qatar Creates Week presented an exciting weeklong spring celebration of cultural activities across Qatar from March 10-18, 2023. Showcasing art, culture, and creativity, it’s part of the year-round Qatar Creates cultural movement and platform for promoting art and culture to support local talent and develop the creative economy. The one-of-a-kind line-up of iconic exhibitions, engaging tours, and meaningful panels allowed the audience to immerse themselves in a communal celebration of arts and culture.
Hosted across different landmarks in Qatar, the event was open to the public across all ages and also attracted many visitors from abroad. From art lovers to sports fans, the captivating program had something to offer for everyone. Here are some the highlights of the week:
Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar
(Showing until 20 May 2023)
The 2023 Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar is the second biennial program of diverse practices and dialogues of photographers and photographic communities in Qatar and the Western Asia and North Africa (WANA) region. This year, Tasweer opened four of the following exhibitions:
– Doha Fashion Fridays presents a unique collaborative project, initiated in 2017 on Instagram by artists Khalid Albaih and Aparna Jayakumar, in which migrant workers in Qatar are photographed and interviewed on Fridays, their day of rest. Using fashion as a lens, the project tells narratives about the diverse migrant population that has come to Qatar with dreams and aspirations.
– A Chance To Breathe, presents the work of three Rohingya refugees — Azimul Hasson, Dil Kayas, and Omal Khair — who have documented their personal experience inside Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the largest refugee camp in the world.
– At Al Koot Fort, on the edge of Souq Waqif, And Thereafter presents an immersive installation by Qatar-resident artist Hadeer Omar in collaboration with Sonic Jeel, an artistic collective exploring hybrid-media. For this site-specific installation, Omar drew upon the surrounding areas of Souq Waqif as sources of inspiration, weaving together traditional and contemporary aspects of daily life, translating and transforming them into surreal immersive environments.
– At Majlis Barahat Al Jufairi, My Mother Lulwa's House presents an installation by Qatari artist Mashael Al Hejazi that honors the social and architectural character of this historic district of Doha and the collective memories and narratives of the Al Baraha community, where she had lived during her childhood.
Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility
(Showing until 12 June 2023)
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the world's leading institution in the field opened Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility. The multidisciplinary exhibition, is co-curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath and revisits Beirut’s modern history between 1958 and 1978. With more than 225 artworks and 300 archival documents, it highlights Beirut’s pivotal role in elaborating a new vision for modernity through politically engaged art where everything seemed possible. In recognizing the complex links between the past and Beirut’s current struggles, the exhibition questions the romanticizing narrative of the so-called “Golden Age”, that ultimately led to the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.
Lusail Museum: Tales of a Connected World
(Showing until 29 April 2023)
Lusail Museum is an upcoming new institution designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron. Through vast and diverse collections, the Lusail Museum will tell nuanced stories about different groups of people connected across the Indian Ocean, focusing on themes of movement, identity, and exchange. Qatar Museums is currently showcasing a special exhibition at QM Gallery Al Riwaq, Lusail Museum: Tales of a Connected World, which previews the vision for the new museum. The exhibition presents plans for the Lusail Museum, its architectural design, and its world-class collection of art. The exhibition sheds light on the past, present, and future of Lusail by showcasing 247 artefacts.
Experience Al Jazeera Exhibition
(Showing until 29 April 2023)
Experience Al Jazeera is hosted at Fire Station, a contemporary art space committed to supporting creatives through residencies and public programs. Curated by Anaghime Zian, the exhibition is about Al Jazeera Media Network and showcases its unprecedented impact and growth from a single Arabic language television channel to a globally recognized media organization. It highlights the trailblazing efforts of the network which set a precedent for freedom of the press in the region and is both a celebration of the Network’s achievements, as well as an introspective look into the challenges it has faced.
PSG x Clown Skateboard Collection
(Showing until 01 April 2023)
PSG x Clown Skateboard Collection is Paris Saint-Germain Football Club’s newest collection stemming from their collaboration with UK brand, Clown Skateboards at Fire Station. The Doha capsule range is inspired by the art of calligraffiti artist Fatima Al-Sharshani and uses a unique pattern which reflects Qatar’s creative culture. The unique collection, made from an array of striking and vibrant organic materials, includes clothing, accessories, and limited-edition skateboards.
World of Football Exhibition
(Showing until 1 April 2023)
World of Football is an exhibition about the beginnings and history of football and the origins of the FIFA World Cup. Showcased at one of the largest Olympic Museums of the world, The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, the exhibition is presented in two halves. The first – Football for All, All for Football – examines the universal and global appeal of football. The second – The Road to Doha – takes the visitor from the first FIFA Men’s World Cup matches in Uruguay in 1930 to the final in this year’s tournament at the Lusail Stadium on 18 December 2022. The “extra time” section, History in the Making, expands throughout the duration of the World Cup, as items from the tournament such as footballs and official merchandise are added to commemorate events that make history in Qatar.
Qatar Creates Week successfully celebrated diversity and talent across the country and offered unforgettable cultural experiences to the local community.
For more information, visit www.qacreates.com/en
