NMoQ an exceptional platform for dialogue

Doha: At the opening of National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) yesterday, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, said that the opening of the National Museum of Qatar is a source of immense pride for Qatar and an exceptional moment for engaging with people from around the world. 

“The extraordinary schedule of inaugural activities draws together outstanding artists, architects, thinkers, and cultural leaders from Qatar and the international community, vividly demonstrating how the National Museum of Qatar will always be a dynamic resource in its programmes as well as its exhibitions. Culture connects people, and with this new museum we believe we have created an exceptional platform for dialogue,” Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said.

The much-anticipated opening ceremony of National Museum of Qatar which was attended by heads of state, dignitaries, and museum leaders from around the world and covered extensively by international media marks a historic moment in the country’s arts and culture landscape.

It was a festive opening ceremony which started with traditional performance by children and culminated with a stunning fireworks display illuminating the sky over the museum.

The architectural masterpiece’s winding, 1.5-kilometer gallery path provides a journey through a series of unique, encompassing environments, each of which tells its part of the story of Qatar through a special combination of architectural space, music, poetry, oral histories, evocative aromas, archaeological and heritage objects, commissioned artworks, monumentally-scaled art films, and more.

NMoQ is organised in three chapters — ‘Beginnings’, ‘Life in Qatar’, and ‘The Modern History of Qatar’ — presented in eleven galleries, which take visitors from the geological period long before the peninsula was inhabited through to the present day. 

The first chapter comprises three galleries including The Formation of Qatar, Qatar’s Natural Environments, and The Archaeology of Qatar while galleries in the second chapter are The People of Qatar, Life in Al Barr (Desert), Life on the Coast, and Pearls and Celebrations. 

The third chapter is divided into three time periods namely 1500-1913, 1913-1972 and 1972-2013. ‘Qatar Today’, a gallery near the conclusion of the permanent gallery route, will immerse visitors in Qatar’s recent history through a striking digital installation.

Oral history films, archival photographs, maps, texts, models, and digital learning stations establish the narrative, along with some of the most dazzling treasures of Qatar’s history and heritage. Surrounding the objects and bringing the experience to life is a sequence of short art films that NMoQ commissioned from a roster of distinguished international filmmakers. 

The films are projected at immense scale and with hypnotic clarity against the walls of the galleries, with each one uniquely suited to the dynamically curving, irregular shape. With their towering size, the films seem to make the walls dissolve into moving spectacles. All films were produced by the Doha Film Institute using cutting-edge technologies and were shot within the borders of Qatar. Together, the eleven permanent galleries take visitors from the formation of the Qatar peninsula millions of years ago to the nation’s exciting and diverse present. Giving voice to the nation’s rich heritage and culture and expressing the aspirations of its people, NMoQ will serve as a hub for discovery, creativity, and community engagement, providing diverse educational opportunities for Qatar and advancing the nation’s cultural vision on the global stage.

The spectacular 52,000-square-meter NMoQ embraces as its centerpiece the restored historic Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani (1880-1957), son of the founder of modern Qatar. A building that in former times was both the home of the Royal Family and the seat of government, and was subsequently the site of the original National Museum, the historic Palace is now the culminating exhibit in the sweeping succession of gallery experiences.

Commissioned artworks by local and international artists such as Ali Hassan, Aisha Nasser Al-Sowaidi, Roch Vandromme, and Jean-Michel Othoniel located outdoors and indoors are among the unique features of the new museum.

Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al Thani, Director of NMoQ, said, “After more than adecade of planning, we are deeply gratified to welcome the people of Qatar and our international visitors to this exciting, multi-layered, experiential museum. From the start, Qatar Museums and the National Museum team knew that we wanted to create a living experience for our people—a museum with a heart.”

“We have created galleries full of movement, sound, and color in order to engage our public fully, with their senses and emotions as well as their intellects, and have assembled creative and authentic content that is so rich that people will discover something new with each visit. It is now time for the discoveries to begin.”

The museum is open today from 10am to 9pm, tomorrow from 1:30pm to 7pm and on Saturday from 10am to 7pm. From March 31 onwards, NMoQ’s opening hours will be from 9am to 7pm (Saturday to Thursday) and from 1.30pm to 7pm on Fridays. Last admission to the Museum is 30 minutes before closing.