Encountering contemporary art in Qatar: Critical conversations at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

Abstract

Introduction In the last 10 years, the small Gulf state of Qatar has begun to play a prominent role in the international art world, hosting exhibitions and commissioning art works under the direction of Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, sister to Qatar’s current Emir and Chairperson of Qatar Museums, the state entity overseeing the country’s museums. Art museums relate to Qatar’s aspirations in the spheres of culture and education, and symbolise the ambitious scale of the country’s development plans to the world. The new museums in Qatar’s capital city, Doha – the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), opened in 2008, and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf), opened in 2010 – are still in the process of growing their local audiences, and have developed a number of programs and activities to engage the public (Kennedy, Hargreaves, and Al Khater, this volume; Dezember, 2013; Mathaf, n.d.). However, both Qatari nationals and the international media have been critical of Qatar Museums for importing art from abroad, overspending on exhibitions, and not providing enough training opportunities for Qataris (Hossenally, 2012; The Economist, 2012; Doha News, 2013a; Doha News, 2013b). Debates around the role of art and culture in society reveal a great deal about the social and political dynamics present in Qatar today. As an American museum educator working at Mathaf from 2012-15, I witnessed the evolution of museums in Qatar fi rsthand, and observed how these institutions can act as catalysts for individual and social development by encouraging critical thinking among both the Qatari national and expatriate populations. In this chapter, I will provide a counterpoint to the incomplete media narrative about art in Qatar by exploring some of the tensions that exist around museums and contemporary art exhibitions, describing recent developments in the local art scene, and analysing Mathaf’s educational strategies, which represent one attempt at making new art relevant to diverse audiences in Doha.