How is Qatar Becoming the Elite HUB for Art?

Traveling to Italy and specifically to the floating art city, Venice made me learn about the contemporary Italian artist; Lorenzo Quinn, and his latest breathtaking monumental sculpture: Support. As many iconic and historical buildings in Venice are threatened by climate change and time decay; Quinn deployed two giant white hands in the waters of the Grand Canal to support the fa?ade of Palazzo Morosini Sagredo (also known as Ca’ Sagredo) to raise awareness on the power that human hands hold within them in eliminating the effect of climate change. 

Passing by these huge hands in Venice astonished me, and the first thing I did back then was starting my own research about this genius artist. And guess what I discovered?? One of his most popular art pieces is here in Qatar!!!

THE FORCE OF NATURE II that probably most of us who visited Qatar have seen in Katara, the Cultural Village in Doha. The artwork was installed by the artist in October 2011.

The other fascinating fact that attracted me was that this sculpture is a piece out of three-pieces series of sculptures installed in New York and London besides Qatar.

SO, What’s the Story behind this Sculpture?

I’m sure that if you are reading this paragraph now; then you’re wondering what was the artist’s urge to imagine and build such a piece of art, and what is the global message he desired to send out to the world?

Quinn dedicated this artwork to “Mother Earth” after seeing the ravaged coast of Thailand and the Hurricane that affected the Southern States.

He explained “We humans think of ourselves as supreme beings. We live with a false sense of security only to be awakened by Mother Nature’s fury, almost as if she needs to remind us of her presence and our responsibility towards her child. After having seen the ravaged coast of Thailand and the Hurricane that affected the Southern States; I decided to create a sculpture dedicated to Mother Nature. This would be reminiscent of the early statues made as peace offerings to the Gods in the hope of quenching their anger. In essence, people are not very different today from the people who lived thousands of years ago. We still devote ourselves to symbols to escape our destiny” (Quinn, n.d.).

What Can We Conclude about the Art Scene in Qatar?

The State of Qatar has witnessed an emerged modern Qatari art movement in the 20th Century which was working persistently on the substantial development of the Qatari art scene. All what we see nowadays while roaming the streets and public areas in Qatar and specifically in Doha are the beautiful architecture, the various art pieces, and modern museums. I’m also sure that you are all aware of the huge investments done to buy many art pieces, paintings and sculptures.

Some of the iconic pieces that Qatar owns are:

1. Maman: Sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, 1999
2. Child with a Dove: Painting by Pablo Picasso, 1901
3. When Will You Marry? Painting by Paul Gauguin, 1892
4. Gandhi's Three Monkeys: a series of sculptures by Indian artist Subodh Gupta
5. The Card Players: Painting by Paul Cézanne, 1895
6. Richard Serra '7': Sculpture by Richard Serra  

There are many more pieces that were created by international and very famous artists out there in Doha. All what you need is to go find them to enjoy the ultimate beauty of at that many of us travel the world see.

Don’t you think that Qatar has placed itself as a Hub for international artists and unique art pieces on the world map?

To know more about my trips around the world; you can follow my Instagram account: Rosette.fares

Note: I wrote this article to be published within ELAN Group's latest magazine edition.