Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
Buidlding Exterior
Architect: Jean-François Bodin
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Buidlding Exterior
Architect: Jean-François Bodin
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Buidlding Exterior
Architect: Jean-François Bodin
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
The Museum offers a welcoming, vibrant environment that invites evolving discussions about modern art in the region and beyond. Home to a permanent collection that offers a distinctively unique comprehensive overview of modern and contemporary art from North Africa and the Middle East, Mathaf ("museum" in Arabic) also performs a vital role as a centre for dialogue and scholarship and a resource for fostering creativity.
Mathaf was opened in 2010 by Qatar Museums in partnership with Qatar Foundation (QF) and is located in Education City. It is located in a former school building in Qatar Foundation’s Education City, which was transformed by French architect Jean-François Bodin. The Museum was founded by H.E. Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani, who began collecting in the 1980s with the acquisition of works by Qatari artists.
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
Buidlding Interior
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
Buidlding Interior
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Buidlding Interior
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Buidlding Interior
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Sheikh Hassan later broadened his focus to include works by 20th-century artists throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arab Diaspora and objects that inspired many Arab modern artists, such as pre-Islamic works from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. An initial group of works assembled by Sheikh Hassan was donated to the public institution.
Over the past decade, Mathaf has hugely contributed to research and debate around modern art contemporary art, made available to scholars and audiences through the Mathaf Encyclopedia of Modern Art and the Arab World. The Museum made itself a meeting point for scholars from across the region around education programmes, conferences, and publications. It has served as a dynamic platform for artists by facilitating the creation and exploration of contemporary works.
Mathaf presents a world-class temporary exhibition programme each year, featuring internationally acclaimed modern and contemporary artists whose work plays an important role in opening conversations on the social and political shifts in the history and contemporary life of the Arab world, investigating the way societies are structured, and interrogating the role art plays in our local and regional contexts. Since opening in 2010, the museum has held solo exhibitions of artists including Adel Abdessemed, Etel Adnan, El Anatsui, Dia Al-Azzawi, Yto Barrada, Cai Guo-Qiang, Huguette Caland, Mona Hatoum, M F Husain, Fateh al-Moudarres, Shirin Neshat, Raqs Media Collective, and Wael Shawky.
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Abdellah Karroum was the director of Mathaf from june 2013 through 2021.
Photo Courtesy of Qatar Museums
Zeina Arida is the director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. An expert in the arts, culture and heritage of the Arab world with a focus on photography, archives and modern and contemporary art, Zeina Arida reopened the Sursock Museum in Beirut after a ten-year renovation and expansion project, initiating local and international partnerships, presenting exhibitions, public programmes, and library and archives programmes, turning the museum into a local and international landmark. After the museum was damaged by the Beirut blast in 2020, she raised more than $2.5 million for the reconstruction of the building and the restoration of the artworks. From 1997 to 2014, Zeina Arida was the director of the Arab Image Foundation (AIF), where she co-initiated Middle East Photograph Preservation Initiative (MEPPI), a strategic multi-year programme designed to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the region’s photographic heritage.
