Qatar Museums has proposed an extensive public art initiative that will be implemented not just in the nation’s capital of Doha but also the entire nation in front of the rapidly coming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. 40 new pieces will be added to the 70 that are already present nationwide, transforming the country’s public spaces—parks, commercial areas, rail stations, hotel plazas, cultural institutions, Hamad International Airport, and the eight World Cup 2022 stadiums—into a “vast outdoor art museum.”
In a statement, Qatar Museums’ chair Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said, “The installation of 40 new, significant works of public art this fall represents a significant milestone for Qatar’s public art initiative.
One of our most visible examples of cross-cultural interchange is public art, where we display creations from creators of many backgrounds and nationalities. Public art is present to make your experience distinctive, from the arrivals at the best airport in the world, Hamad International Airport, to every neighbourhood in our country.
In the region, Qatar was among the first nations to develop a public art programme, which currently features pieces by Richard Serra, Tom Claaseen, Bruce Nauman, Louise Bourgeois, and Urs Fischer.
According to Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Ishaq, director of public art at Qatar Museums, “Qatar Museums’ public art programme, more than anything else, serves as a reminder that art is all around us, not just in museums and galleries, and can be enjoyed and celebrated whether you are going to work, or school, or the desert, or the beach.” On November 21, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 begins.