Doha: Qatar Museums proudly announced the launch of three major exhibitions at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the country’s premier destination for modern and contemporary art. Open from April 19 to August 9, 2025, these exhibitions present a powerful platform to discover the depth and diversity of contemporary art from Qatar and beyond.
The newly unveiled shows include: a comprehensive survey of Qatari art from the 1960s to the present; the first museum retrospective of the late Qatari artist Wafa Al-Hamad; and an international showcase of film and video art spotlighting creators from the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The exhibitions were officially revealed by H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, and attended by key figures including Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi, CEO of Qatar Museums, Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani, Mathaf President, and Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, Chairman of Media City Qatar, among other dignitaries.
The exhibition titled Qatar: Close to My Soul – Art from the Collection of Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani sheds light on the progressive journey of Qatari art from the late 1960s through today. Its name draws inspiration from the beloved poem and song “Allah ya ‘Omri Qatar” by Abdullah Al-Hammadi. The exhibition is curated into three thematic sections—celebrating the country’s natural landscapes and architecture, portraits of social life, and the evolution of abstract expression in Qatari art. Notable works include Faraj Daham’s Sealine Landscape (1996) and Jameela Al-Shraim’s The Victory (1984).
These works reflect both personal expression and a broader cultural dialogue in response to Qatar’s rapidly shifting landscape, offering a distinct visual narrative rooted in local realities while contributing to the wider conversation in global contemporary art.
Running concurrently is Wafa Al-Hamad: Sites of Imagination, the first-ever solo museum presentation of the late artist’s work. Recognized for her exploration of abstraction and vivid use of color, Al-Hamad’s oeuvre captures figures and landscapes that echo Qatari cultural tradition through organic motifs and modernist sensibility. The exhibition spans her four-decade-long career and also emphasizes her role as a trailblazer among Arab women artists. It highlights her engagement with contemporaries like Madiha Omar, Nadira Mahmoud, Balqees Fakhro, Samia Halaby, and Naziha Salem.
Among the featured artworks are The Tower of Barzan and Optical Illusion, both painted in 1985, accompanied by numerous other significant pieces that showcase her stylistic evolution and enduring impact.
The final exhibition, titled Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices, gathers over 40 filmmakers and video artists from the Arab world, Africa, and Southeast Asia, addressing pressing themes such as migration, exile, and transnational identity.
Premiered during the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2024, this immersive experience unfolds across ten thematic sections within seven galleries. It delves into complex narratives of deserts as places of origin and rebirth; ruins as testaments to collapsed cultures; borders as both physical barriers and ideological divides; and exile as a lived and symbolic condition.
Standout works include Sophia Al Maria’s Black Friday (2016), Wael Shawky’s Al Araba Al Madfuna Part III (2016), and Hassan Khan’s Jewel (2010), all emblematic of the exhibition’s investigation into expanded cinematic practices and collective narratives.
— V.2 Editorial Team
