The Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar’s Doha was impressive enough to warrant two blog posts, one of which highlighted special exhibition by well renowned Chinese artist Cai Tuo Qiang and this one, which is designed to give you a flavor of the museum’s style and flavor itself. I decided to do that largely through images as a visual journey in my opinion is always the best one despite the fact that I’m a lover of words.
The creative journey starts on the outside. Upon entering, you are surrounded by boulders and other stone statues that intrigue you enough to linger as long as you might on the inside.
From birds and cylinders on its exterior to Cia Tuo Qiang, Qatar royalty and ships in water on the inside, a day exploring inside and outside its walls will get your creative juices flowing.
Their mission as noted before is to develop programs and events that explore and celebrate art by Arab artists and offer an Arab perspective on international modern and contemporary art.
The collection includes work by artists from every Arab country, representing major trends and sites of production in the region. The earliest modern works are from the 1840s, and the most recent contemporary works bring us up to the present day.
They host a number of interesting programs. For example, in late April, they had an event with designer and Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor Alexander Cheek where they explored design theory and how it can frame a discussion around maps. More than just getting the viewer from point A to point B, maps form a narrative and interpretive view on the world, as seen in Cai Guo-Qiang’s artwork Route.
From the outside to the lobby/foyer area, sculpture continues to be a primary part of the experience.
The mist is as real as it looks…
From water, boats, mist and flags to birds hanging from ceilings, gunpowder etchings and modern paintings:
For more on Qatar, check this section out and for an interesting post on the Murakami Ego exhibit, also in Doha, go here. For more on arts in general, go here. For great images and an overview on Doha’s Souq Waqif, go here.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
