CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

Qatar / Culture

Last chance to view Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art Spring 2025 exhibitions

Published: 24 Jul 2025 - 09:42 am | Last Updated: 24 Jul 2025 - 09:43 am

The Peninsula

DOHA: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art is inviting the public to explore its current exhibitions which will close on August 9. The three exhibitions Qatar: Close to my Soul, Art from the Collection of Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani; Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices; and Wafa al-Hamad: Sites of Imagination went on display on April 19 as part of the Qatar Creates Spring/Summer 2025 season.

Qatar: Close to my Soul, Art from the Collection of Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani exhibition presents paintings, sculptures and installations alongside archival materials that collectively tell the story and history of Qatari art, artists, and movements. Featuring a number of significant works and artists, the exhibition highlights the diverse artistic approaches that have emerged across generations since the 1960s. The exhibition is curated by Fatma Mostafawi.

Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices exhibition, curated by Matthieu Orléan, features the works of more than 40 filmmakers and video artists from across the Arab world, Africa, Southeast Asia, and other areas within the Global South. The exhibition explores themes of exile, migration and the complex dynamics of transnational crossings, taking visitors through seven galleries, each with its own theme. This includes deserts (cradles of civilisation and places of rebirth), ruins (relics of culture), borders (demarcations between allowed and forbidden places) and exile. Produced by Qatar Museums, in collaboration with Media City Qatar the featured films have been co-financed or initiated by Doha Film Institute and are on view alongside video works from the collections of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the future Art Mill Museum.

Lastly, the Wafa al-Hamad: Sites of Imagination exhibition is dedicated to the late Qatari artist who was known for her experimentation with abstraction and Arabic letter. Al-Hamad’s works showcase paintings of figures and landscapes incorporating vibrant colours and organic shapes while also paying homage to Qatari traditions. The exhibition also highlights other pioneering Arab female artists, including Madiha Omar, Nadira Mahmoud, Balqees Fakhro, Samia Halaby, Naziha Salem and Helen Khal. The exhibition is curated by Lina Ramadan.