https://www.facebook.com/OnlyInQatar It’s a truth universally known that in all articles about Qatar, one must mention basic facts (size, oil, ambition, FIFA world cup), otherwise certain death (oh it’s so wee and it has so much oil and money and they own everything in London, the newspapers of the UK whine. That’s boring, newspapers, shut up). What I find far more interesting about the country which I live in, is its interest in art and how unusual that is, the problems of the art scene here and the sheer ambition behind it. Firstly, the government runs the art scene over here…which is fairly unusual. Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) run all the museums of which there are many for such a tiny wee peninsula. Their flagship museum is the Museum of Islamic Art, which sits on the Corniche (the bay, for all you ignoramuses) and was designed by I.M. Pei and is a stunning piece of architectural work. Inside, it hosts lots of Islamic and Arab artefacts, mostly from Iran and they have about 2 exhibitions a year. Often…it’s pretty empty inside. Personally, I think they should open it up as a venue, as the beautiful atrium would be a stunning place […]
