Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art, located in Education City Doha, is one hub that nourishes art field in Qatar. The museum is renowned by its huge collection of modern Arabic art and thought as one must-see museum in Qatar.
Mathaf in Arabic means museum. Many part of museum are also named in Arabic, like Maqha (Café), Makata (Library). The education place is named as Manara, which means lighthouse in Arabic, to represent delivering knowledge like lighthouse shines.
The museum was originally an old school building, and redesigned by French architect, Jean Francois bodin. Color white is everywhere in Mathaf, to minimize the influence of color, like blank canvas, allowing art pieces pop up in the space.Some special design like scaffold in the lobby, as if museum is under construction, represents the notion of modern art --- never completes and constantly goes through.
Mr. Sheikh Hassan, a petriotic Qatari, is the key person to the museum. When Mr. Sheikh Hassan studied in Art of the 20th Century in Qatar University in 80s, he found Picasso, Monet on the textbook, but nearly no Arab artists are mentioned. He thought these artists’ contribution was obvious as well and deserved to be one part of the book. This pushed him to collect Arabic and Qatari art pieces.
Since then, his collection had grown bigger after buying art pieces from the artists themselves or their relatives. He enjoyed the process of collecting; therefore, he owned over 7000 pieces. For him, these collections are part of the history, which are the reflections of the region, the political and social changes in Arabic world.
Mr. Sheikh Hassan said ” I want to collect and I want to show these.” So in the mid-90s, he set up Mathaf, allowing people have accessibility to these collections. The initiative of the museum is simple --- people come and get the idea of modern Arabic art and use them as resource or reference.
Old Mathaf was located in two villas, which were near from current location but had not enough space for his huge collections. Therefore, Sheikh Hassan met Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, founder of Qatar foundation, to conceive how to use these collections as educational resources and inspired the citizens. The museum consequently moved to Education city and reopened in 2010.
Modern Arab art and contemporary art pieces are dominant in the museum. In the museum Arabic artists’ work are the majority but also from Egyptian, Iraqis, etc. Cross culture exhibition are also shown recent year, like Cai Guo-Qiang.
The blend of different culture enriches collections and brought Mathaf into world stage.
The uniqueness of Mathaf is its positioning. It aims to promote Arabic modern art Modern art from the region and internationally. People could visit the museum to admire and learn from art through various programs, which are designed for all ages. College students could participate in Mathaf Voices, an internship program, while children could interpret the meaning of the art through guided school visits with museum educators.
From private collection to the first modern art museum in Qatar, Mathaf is a local artistic voice. “Your place”, museum’s slogan, encourages people to visit the museum and learn from these Arabic art works. The young museum represents the vibrancy of Qatar and is regarded as a hub of modern art in the Middle East.
Mathaf in Arabic means museum. Many part of museum are also named in Arabic, like Maqha (Café), Makata (Library). The education place is named as Manara, which means lighthouse in Arabic, to represent delivering knowledge like lighthouse shines.
The museum was originally an old school building, and redesigned by French architect, Jean Francois bodin. Color white is everywhere in Mathaf, to minimize the influence of color, like blank canvas, allowing art pieces pop up in the space.Some special design like scaffold in the lobby, as if museum is under construction, represents the notion of modern art --- never completes and constantly goes through.
Mr. Sheikh Hassan, a petriotic Qatari, is the key person to the museum. When Mr. Sheikh Hassan studied in Art of the 20th Century in Qatar University in 80s, he found Picasso, Monet on the textbook, but nearly no Arab artists are mentioned. He thought these artists’ contribution was obvious as well and deserved to be one part of the book. This pushed him to collect Arabic and Qatari art pieces.
Since then, his collection had grown bigger after buying art pieces from the artists themselves or their relatives. He enjoyed the process of collecting; therefore, he owned over 7000 pieces. For him, these collections are part of the history, which are the reflections of the region, the political and social changes in Arabic world.
Mr. Sheikh Hassan said ” I want to collect and I want to show these.” So in the mid-90s, he set up Mathaf, allowing people have accessibility to these collections. The initiative of the museum is simple --- people come and get the idea of modern Arabic art and use them as resource or reference.
Old Mathaf was located in two villas, which were near from current location but had not enough space for his huge collections. Therefore, Sheikh Hassan met Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, founder of Qatar foundation, to conceive how to use these collections as educational resources and inspired the citizens. The museum consequently moved to Education city and reopened in 2010.
Modern Arab art and contemporary art pieces are dominant in the museum. In the museum Arabic artists’ work are the majority but also from Egyptian, Iraqis, etc. Cross culture exhibition are also shown recent year, like Cai Guo-Qiang.
The blend of different culture enriches collections and brought Mathaf into world stage.
The uniqueness of Mathaf is its positioning. It aims to promote Arabic modern art Modern art from the region and internationally. People could visit the museum to admire and learn from art through various programs, which are designed for all ages. College students could participate in Mathaf Voices, an internship program, while children could interpret the meaning of the art through guided school visits with museum educators.
From private collection to the first modern art museum in Qatar, Mathaf is a local artistic voice. “Your place”, museum’s slogan, encourages people to visit the museum and learn from these Arabic art works. The young museum represents the vibrancy of Qatar and is regarded as a hub of modern art in the Middle East.
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