Qatar Museums (QM) Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani opened two landmark exhibitions dedicated to the life and work of renowned architect I. M. Pei, who designed and conceptualised Qatar’s iconic Museum of Islamic Art.

The exhibitions — I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture and I. M. Pei and the Making of the Museum of Islamic Art: From Square to Octagon and Octagon to Circle — celebrate Pei’s extraordinary legacy and his enduring influence on Qatar’s cultural identity.

Attending the opening at ALRIWAQ were West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Chairman Bernard Chan, its CEO Betty Fung, QM’s Acting Deputy CEO of Exhibitions, Public Art, and Rubayia Qatar HE Sheikha Reem Al Thani, MIA Director Shaika Nasser Al Nassr, and several other top officials and dignitaries.

The ceremony was also attended by I. M. Pei’s former colleagues who worked closely with him during the design and construction of the Museum of Islamic Art.

Presented in collaboration with M+ Hong Kong, the travelling exhibition ‘I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture’ is the first comprehensive retrospective devoted to Pei's life and work.

Bringing together more than 400 works, including original drawings, architectural models, photographs, films, and archival documentation, the exhibition not only defines his unique practice, but also places his architectural projects in dialogue with social, cultural, and biographical trajectories, showing architecture and life to be inseparable.

The exhibition is organised into six thematic sections — Pei’s Cross-Cultural Foundation, Real Estate and Urban Redevelopment, Art and Civic Form, Power, Politics and Patronage, Material and Structural innovation, and Reinterpreting History through Design.

Landmark projects featured include the National Gallery of Art’s East Building in Washington, DC, the modernisation of the Grand Louvre in Paris, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, his final masterpiece and an enduring symbol of Qatar’s cultural evolution.

The exhibition builds upon seven years of research by M+, and arrives in Doha following acclaimed presentations in Hong Kong in June 2024 and Shanghai in April 2025.

At MIA,آ I. M. Pei and the Making of the Museum of Islamic Artآ showcases the creative journey behind one of the 21st century’s most celebrated architectural achievements.

The exhibition traces Pei’s commission by HH The Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his quest to capture the ‘essence of Islamic architecture.’

Featuring original sketches, models, early photographs, and archival documents — many displayed publicly for the first time — the exhibition retraces Pei’s process of transforming centuries of tradition into a modern masterpiece.

Curated by Aurelien Lemonier, Art Mill Museum Curator of Architecture, Design and Gardens, and Zahra Khan, Art Mill Museum Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, in close collaboration with Dr Mounia Chekhab Abudaya, Museum of Islamic Art Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, the exhibition unfolds across seven sections, from the 1997 International Architecture Competition to the museum’s 2008 opening and its lasting legacy as a cultural beacon in Doha and beyond.

Coinciding with both the exhibitions, QM launches an extensive series of public programs under the banner ‘Architecture and Design - Turning Vision Into a Universal Dialogue,’ a new platform for architectural exploration and exchange. The programme features talks, workshops, and academic collaborations led by internationally acclaimed architects and designers and regional practitioners.

Complementary activities at MIA and ALRIWAQ include curator-led tours, hands-on workshops, family events, and educational sessions designed to engage visitors of all ages. These programs cultivate public appreciation for architecture as a universal language, one that, as Pei’s work demonstrates, bridges cultures, histories, and communities.

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