Across Borders
Ongoing cultural exchanges between Qatar and France have fostered an abundance of fruitful collaborations, from world-class museums to couture and contemporary art. These are just a few highlights
QATAR → PARIS
Our World is Burning at Palais de Tokyo
2020
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and Palais de Tokyo joined forces in 2020 for Our World is Burning, an unflinching group show that looked at some of the complex global events that have shaped the modern Middle East. Curated by Mathaf’s then-director, Abdellah Karroum, the show included works by an international roster of artists from the Middle East and the wider world, including Bouthayna Al Muftah, Wael Shawky, Kader Attia, Shirin Neshat, John Akomfrah and Faraj Daham (pictured).
Jardin de Lumière at Nuit Blanche
2020
For the one-night Nuit Blanche art event in 2020 Qatar Museums and Auditoire Paris commissioned Qatari artist Ghada Al Khater and French studio Bonjour Lab to create Jardin de Lumière. The large interactive artwork in a space on the Champs-Élysées was inspired by Persian rugs, and featured visuals of Qatar’s flora and fauna that sprang to life beneath visitors’ feet. It was accompanied by a bespoke scent and a soundtrack that merged traditional chants sung by Qatari pearl divers with a dreamlike ambient score. The sold-out installation was Qatar Museums’ first digital public artwork.
MENART Fair Paris
2021
MENART is the first major European contemporary art fair dedicated to artists from the Middle East and North Africa. At its inaugural edition in 2021 it hosted the Qatari Pavilion, which showcased the country’s growing presence on the international art scene. Eiwan Al Gassar – a creative community space in Doha, home to Wusum Gallery, which represents artists from Qatar and the Arabian Peninsula – presented works by Hanadi Al Darwish, Fatma Al Shebani and Ali Dasmal Al Kuwari. The pavilion was opened by the Qatari ambassador to France, His Excellency Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, alongside fair director Laure d’Hauteville. The fair takes place this year from 24-26 October.
The Aubusson Tapestry Project
2022
As part of the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture programme Qatari multidisciplinary artist Bouthayna Al Muftah began a project with the renowned La Cité internationale de la tapisserie in Aubusson, France. Together they produced a textile work titled Yeebhom (Bring Them Back), which was unveiled at Bouthayna’s solo exhibition Anassir (Elements) at M7 in 2022. Celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties between Qatar and France, the work recalls Qatar’s seafaring past and fuses centuries-old French craftsmanship with modern Qatari creativity.
PARIS → QATAR
Doha Tower and the National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel
2012 and 2019
French architect Jean Nouvel’s National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) was completed in 2019 and was inspired by a local geological formation of crystals known as a desert rose. The 58 interlocking discs that form the dramatic structure house a series of galleries that tell the nation’s story from its ancient origins to today. NMoQ is not the only Qatari landmark created by Nouvel, he also designed Doha Tower, completed in 2012, a cylindrical skyscraper with a rounded top inspired by the country’s traditional mud-and-clay bird towers.
Cosmos and Alfa by Jean-Michel Othoniel
2018 and 2019
French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel is responsible for two monumental public artworks in Qatar. At Hamad International Airport, Cosmos is an enormous sculpture crafted from gold chains that was inspired by the oldest known Islamic astrolabe, which is in Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art. Alfa (pictured left), outside NMoQ, features 114 stainless-steel fountains, made to resemble threaded beads, which evoke the beauty of Arabic calligraphy. It is set in the lagoon that lies between the museum and the coastal highway.
Le Pouce by César Baldaccini
2019
Based on a cast of the artist’s own thumb taken in 1965 and subsequently fabricated in several different sizes, this version of Le Pouce, 1991, is a 3m-tall sculpture cast in bronze at the heart of Souq Waqif, Doha’s historic bazaar district. The work was installed by Qatar Museums to commemorate the national football team’s historic victory in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams
2021-22
The House of Dior’s first Middle Eastern retrospective transformed M7 – a hub for local fashion, design and tech entrepreneurs in downtown Doha – into a showcase of haute couture history. Rare pieces from Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s private collection were shown alongside never-before-seen ensembles from one of fashion’s most famous maisons. The exhibition, adapted from the original Paris version, highlighted Dior’s global legacy while celebrating Qatar’s own growing influence on the international fashion landscape.
