Qatar Creates presents exciting lineup of new exhibitions, film screenings, and masterclasses

Doha: Qatar Creates announced a jampacked list of exciting events which will kick off on March 10-18, 2023. The upcoming events are part of its spring and summer public programme for showcasing art, culture, and creativity.

Doha Film Institute (DFI) will join with Qatar Creates to create a more dynamic and engaging program. Highlights of the week include the start of the ninth edition of DFI’s annual industry incubator event, Qumra 2023, crucial to the success of first and second-time filmmakers from the Arab world and beyond, the opening of the second biennial Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar featuring local and regional image makers, the debut of several art exhibitions including the first solo exhibition of artist Olafur Eliasson’s work in the Gulf region. Building on Qatar’s extensive cultural offerings, the robust series of events showcases the best of Qatar’s creative industries as well as international contributions. 

On the occasion of the announcement, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums and Doha Film Institute stated: “Each year at the spring gathering of Qatar Creates, we present a wide-ranging cultural programme that celebrates the diversity and talent of the nation and illuminates major topics of local, regional, and international interest. The exciting programme planned for this March exemplifies all that Qatar Creates offers: showcasing Qatari cinema through Doha Film Institute events, highlighting the perspectives of outstanding local and regional photographers at Tasweer, raising fascinating and urgent issues through Olafur Eliasson’s remarkable installations and projects, and much more. We look forward to welcoming everyone to explore and enjoy, in the spirit of discovery and dialogue of Qatar Creates.”

A Chance To Breathe

Highlights of Qatar Creates March 2023 include:

The 2023 Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar, from March 15 to May 20, is the second biennial programme of exhibitions, awards, commissions, collaborations, presentations and workshops that amplify diverse practices and dialogues of photographers and photographic communities in Qatar and the Western Asia and North Africa (WANA) region. Established by Qatar Museums under the leadership of its Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar is being developed as a focal point for the personal and professional creative growth of photographers and image-makers in the region building on Qatar Museums’ commitment to nurture artistic talent, develop Qatar’s arts economy and support creative industry. 

Doha Fashion Fridays

On March 15 at M7, Tasweer will open two remarkable exhibitions – Doha Fashion Fridays, a unique collaborative project founded by Khalid Albaih and Aparna Jayakumar that celebrates the cultural diversity of the migrant population in Qatar through fashion and photography, and A Chance To Breathe which presents the photographs of Azimul Hasson, Dil Kayas and Omal Khair as documenting their daily life and Rohingya community at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the largest refugee camp in the world. 

My Mother Lulwa’s House

Tasweer will also reactivate two site-specific exhibitions: My Mother Lulwa’s House by Qatari artist Mashael Al Hejazi at the Majlis Barahat Al Jufairi, and And Thereafter, an immersive installation by Hadeer Omar in collaboration with Sonic Jeel and Katia Kolovea at Al Koot Fort. 

I Am The Traveller And Also The Road

Opening on March 17, at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, is I Am The Traveler And Also The Road, an exhibition featuring the unique photographic approaches of the twelve recipients in 2021 and 2022 of Tasweer’s Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award grants. These diverse projects on show at Mathaf are created by photographers living in the WANA region.

Also opening at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art on March 17 is Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility, a multidisciplinary exhibition co-curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath that revisits a turbulent chapter in the development of modernism in Beirut, spanning the 1958 Lebanon Crisis to 1975 Lebanese Civil War.

Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility is a tribute to the Beirut art scene of the 1960s, which witnessed an explosion of creativity and artistic experimentation and became a destination for many intellectuals and for artists from across the Arab world. The exhibited artworks – featuring 230 artworks and 300 archival documents drawn from nearly 40 collections worldwide – come from more than 30 institutional and private collections from Lebanon, Europe, UK and the USA. The exhibition adds 8 works from Mathaf’s collection and a number of archival documents that bring additional understanding of the artists’ practices. 

The slow life of sunlight by Olafur Eliasson

Opening on March 19, Curious Desert, Olafur Eliasson’s first solo exhibition in the Gulf region, brings together a dozen new site-specific installations located near the Al Thakhira Mangrove in Northern Qatar and an extensive gallery presentation at the National Museum of Qatar. The outdoor installation consists of twelve temporary pavilions that Eliasson considers to form an artistic laboratory in the desert. At the National Museum of Qatar, the gallery portion of the exhibition features artworks from different periods of Eliasson’s career and in a wide range of media. 

As part of Marchitecture, Qatar’s annual March celebration of architecture and urban design, Qatar Creates will give residents and visitors alike the chance to explore the country’s iconic architecture through a series of tours and workshops. This unique offering provides an opportunity to learn how Qatar’s rich history and culture have influenced the country’s urban landscape.

Supporting the script-to-screen journey of emerging filmmakers attached to film projects from across the world supported by the Institute, Qumra 2023 will be held in an innovative hybrid format with in-person events being held from March 10 to 15, and virtual sessions from March 19 to 21. 

This year, multi Academy Award and BAFTA winning British playwright, screenwriter, and director Sir Christopher Hampton (The Father, Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement); theatre, film and TV veteran Academy Award  winning producer David Parfitt (The Father, Shakespeare in Love, My Week with Marilyn, Loving Vincent); visionary costume designer and four Academy Award nominee Jacqueline West (Dune, The Revenant, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button); Cannes award veteran Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin, You Were Never Really Here, Ratcatcher); and winner of the Golden Berlin Bear and Silver Berlin Bear Awards, critically acclaimed British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (The Road to Guantanamo, A Mighty Heart, Welcome to Sarajevo) are confirmed as the Masters for 9th edition of Qumra.

The prolific filmmakers will deliver Master Classes to upcoming filmmakers from the region and around the world, providing them with unique creative development and mentorship opportunities. Qumra also provides participants with thorough mentoring programmes led by global film industry experts, as well as key business meetings with leading film industry professionals.

Qatar Creates has partnered with Clown Skateboard x Paris Saint-Germain on the release of an exclusive capsule collection that combines skateboarding, apparel, and digital art. Inspired by the distinctive cultures of Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and Doha, an abstract design has been created for each city in the range. The Doha capsule range is inspired by the art of calligraffiti artist Fatima Al-Sharshani and uses a unique pattern which reflects the Qatar’s creative culture. The launch event will take place on March 15 at Doha Fire Station and will feature live entertainment and a pop-up store showcasing the final collections from each city. 

An artwork in the exhibition Lusail Museum: Tales of a Connected World

Qatar Creates not only brings new spring programmes but also a range of on-going exhibitions with something to offer for everyone. Art lovers can learn more about Qatar’s future museums by visiting Lusail Museum: Tales of a Connected World at Al Riwaq, showcasing of world-class art and artefacts dating from antiquity to the 21st Century, and Art Mill Museum 2030, which introduces the commissioned artists and outlines plans for what will be Qatar’s international modern and contemporary art museum.

Fashion lovers can explore Forever Valentino at M7, which features the largest collection of Maison Valentino’s couture exhibited in the Middle East to date. Sports enthusiasts can indulge in World of Football at 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum.

The exhibition explores the global appeal and rich history of football, celebrating Qatar’s milestone as the first Arab nation to host the FIFA World Cup.

History buffs can delve into the newly reopened Museum of Islamic Art and visit A Living Tradition of Japanese Pottery.

Experience Al Jazeera at Doha Fire Station offers an immersive experience to explore Al Jazeera Media Network’s growth from a single television channel to a global media phenomenon over the last 25 years.