Qatar's Public Art Program

Qatar’s Public Art Program is a plan led by Qatar Museums (QM)ⁱ, the nation’s prominent institution for art and culture, in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal)ⁱⁱ to transform the county’s landscape into a vast outdoor art museum experience with numerous artworks¹. The program aligns with Qatar Museums’ vision of “being a cultural instigator” and aims to connect people and places through artworks², activate spaces in and outside the capital of Doha in meaningful and accessible ways, bring art directly to the people, enhance community engagement and dialogue ³, and expand creative horizons. Ultimately, the purpose is to enrich Qatar’s cultural landscape through public art in public spaces⁴.

The origins of the program date back to 2011 with the sculpture “7” by the American artist Richard Serra, who installed his art work in the outdoor space of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar. It was installed to ‘connect the aesthetic content of the museum to the possibility of building a public space for the people’ according to the museum’s architect I. M. Pei ⁵. As such, this sculpture became a catalyst for further artworks installed in indoor and outdoor public spaces⁶, including those in and around Hamad International Airport. However, the program was expanded and accelerated to include more spaces and artworks prior to the FIFA World Cup 2022 event⁷. More than 40 new public art installations were added prior to the event so that the 1.5 million tourists anticipated to visit Doha could experience over 100 public artworks from the collection⁸.

The program includes public artworks by artists of all nationalities and backgrounds including local Qatari artists⁹. The geography of the exhibited artworks spans throughout Qatari landscape, extending from the desert to local neighborhoods in cities, including heritage sites such as Souq Waqif. The artworks were installed in shopping areas, nature reserves, educational institutions, museum, parks, national rail stations, as well as a few of the stadiums¹⁰.

The idea of the Public Art program at Qatar Museums (QM) was led and developed by its Chairperson, Sheikha Al Mayassabint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The program discovers and selects artists and artworks through various methods, including getting guidance from advisory panels, collaborating with outside organizations, and openly advertising for submissions¹¹. Several artworks have been installed in partnership with the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads and Public Places in Qatar (Ashghal)¹². Ultimately, the program is considered as one of the first comprehensive contemporary public art programs in the Gulf region.

Additionally, the Art Program also engages the community in many of its activities and this includes collaborations with universities, private and public companies. For example, Qatar Museums organized a Public Art Annual Student Competition exhibition in collaboration with Qatari Diarⁱⁱⁱ, a real estate company, where number of public art installations done by students were featured at Crescent Park in Lusail City.