Chairperson of Qatar Museums H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani along with other dignitaries during the inauguration.
Doha: Qatar Museums proudly unveiled on Friday the opening of three major exhibitions at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar’s leading institution for modern and contemporary art. These exhibitions offer a unique opportunity to explore the rich landscape of contemporary art from Qatar and beyond.
On view from April 19 to August 9, 2025, the lineup includes a major survey of Qatari art from the 1960s to the present, the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the late Qatari artist Wafa Al-Hamad, and a groundbreaking international showcase of film and video art from the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The exhibitions were unveiled by H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, in the attendance of Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi, CEO, 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.
Qatar: Close to My Soul, Art from the Collection of Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani showcases the evolution of Qatari art from the late 1960s to today. Inspired by the well-known poem and song by Adullah Al-Hammadi, “Allah ya ‘Omri Qatar”, the exhibition is organised around three sections that explore the beauty of the country’s natural landscape and architecture, portraits of society, and the art of abstraction.
These visual interpretations serve as self-expression as well as a cultural response to the rapidly changing local environment, and collectively they form a distinctive visual language that engages with the broader regional art discourse. Highlights include notable artworks, including Faraj Daham’s Sealine Landscape (1996), Jameela Al-Shraim The Victory (1984), among many others.
On view simultaneously, Wafa Al-Hamad: Sites of Imagination will be the first solo museum exhibition dedicated to the late Qatari artist. Known for her experimentation with abstraction, Al-Hamad’s paintings of figures and landscapes incorporate vibrant colours and organic shapes while also paying homage to Qatari traditions. This exhibition will highlight the artist’s evolving style over her forty-year career and her lasting legacy as an artist and educator. In addition to her paintings, the exhibition focuses on Al-Hamad’s connection to other pioneering Arab women artists, including Madiha Omar, Nadira Mahmoud, Balqees Fakhro, Samia Halabyand Naziha Salem.
Among the highlights are al-Hamad’s The Tower of Barzan and Optical Illusion, both from 1985, showcased alongside a range of other significant pieces.
The exhibitions are also presented alongside Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices, featuring the work of more than 40 filmmakers and video artists from the Arab world, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The exhibition explores themes such as exile, migration, and the complex dynamics of transnational crossings.
Originally presented during the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2024, it unfolds across ten immersive sections in seven galleries, each dedicated to themes such as deserts (cradles of civilization and places of rebirth), ruins (relics of culture), borders (demarcations between allowed and forbidden places), and exile.
Among the many remarkable works on view are Sophia Al Maria’s Black Friday (2016), Wael Shawky’s Al Araba Al Madfuna Part III (2016), and Hassan Khan’s Jewel (2010).
