Q Life Magazine Q Magazine December 2016 | Page 18
| Issue 1
Mathaf
An Arab
Perspective on
Modern Art
| Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. Museum interior
M
athaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art opened in
2010 in a renovated school building in Doha’s
Education City. The museum’s collection offers a
rare comprehensive overview of modern Arab art,
representing the major trends and production sites from
the 1840s through to present day. Co-owned by Qatar
Museums and Qatar Foundation, the Mathaf Collection
now holds more than 9,000 works, making it the world’s
largest specialised collection of its kind.
| View of Selections from the Collection, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art,
Doha - Photo by Leonore-Namkha Beschi
Through major exhibitions—both historical and
experimental—and large-scale education programmes,
Mathaf serves as a centre for dialogue, a facility for
research, and a resource for fostering creativity. Mathaf
hosts solo and group exhibitions by regional artists, as
well as events that explore and celebrate modern and
contemporary art. The museum also presents exhibitions
that situate the Arab world in a larger art context.
Together, such programmes bolster Mathaf ’s mission to
engage the local and international community, encourage
research and scholarship, and contribute to the cultural
landscape of the Gulf region, the Middle East, the Arab
Diaspora, and beyond.
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| Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. Museum exterior with Adam Henein’s
Al Safina (‘The Ship’) in the foreground