Qatari collector AbdulRahman Al Khelaifi is founder of the Arak Collection – the Middle East and north Africa region’s largest collection of African art and a platform for supporting the artists, curators and writers shaping its future
What do you collect?
I’ve collected more than 5,000 pieces by more than 400 artists from 30 countries on the African continent. I have a focus on emerging artists because I believe the mainstream artists are already taken care of by galleries and museums, and it is the younger artists who need support.
Why did you begin collecting?
I have always been interested in art. I wanted to start collecting, but was unsure if I should collect Qatari and Middle Eastern art or international art. In 2015, I visited the Western Cape in South Africa with my family and loved it. The following year, we took the Rovos Rail from Dar es Salaam to Cape Town and saw Africa in depth, crossing Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The art there is so vibrant and there are so many galleries. So I decided to start collecting African art, from Sudan down to South Africa.
What was the first piece you acquired for the collection?
The first pieces I bought were by two Ethiopian artists – photographer Girma Berta and mixed media artist Leikun Nahusenay. I always try to choose artists who make beautiful art, to bring them into the light. When you like a piece of art, you are just drawn to it.
How do you find new pieces for your collection?
I collect from galleries, from artists directly, from studios, dealers, the secondary market or auction houses in Europe, South Africa or elsewhere. We don’t buy just one or two pieces – we support the artist by buying pieces throughout their career. I believe that to create a collection, you need to have the full story of how an artist’s vision has developed.
Is there a piece in the collection that holds particular meaning?
Every piece of art in the collection means a lot to me and my taste has grown over the years. Many people ask me who helps me to buy the pieces – but no one helps me. I buy what I like. I believe assets are in the stock market, property or the bank, not art. You live with art and if you don’t like what you buy you cannot live with it.
How do you store your collection?
At the end of 2019, I had a collection of over 1,000 pieces at home and my wife asked me to find more space. I found a place near Msheireb in Doha, put in some racks and made it into a research space that is open by appointment. Today, I have four sites: the research space in Msheireb, a storage facility in Doha, my home and another storage facility in Kenya.
What do you hope your collection will preserve for the future?
As well as collecting and preserving the art of emerging African artists, we have held six curator fellowship programmes and five art writing workshops that have trained more than 60 art writers. We then commission these curators and writers to write for our journal or to create a monograph on an artist from the collection. I believe that the Arak Collection will continue to grow, and we will continue to search for new artists. The work the collection does is more than a private collection: we are looking to make a real impact on the art scene in Africa.
Cover image: The Arak Collection features 23 works by artist Rudolf Seibeb, who is from the Namibian town of Okahandja. Photography: Abdou Kadir Jikineh. Shoot production: Bedouins Studios.
