Qatar-South America Cultural Ties Strengthened as Sheikha Al Mayassa Concludes Tour

Qatar has further strengthened cultural ties with South America during a tour by HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums and founder of the Years of Culture initiative, to Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The tour built on cultural exchanges between Qatar and the three South American nations, including the Qatar-Argentina-Chile 2025 Cultural Year and Qatar-Brazil 2014. During meetings with cultural, government and business leaders, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa discussed ways in which partnerships established through cultural-year programs can continue beyond their official timeframes. In Buenos Aires, she took part in a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), alongside Glenn Lowry, honorary director of New York's Museum of Modern Art. The discussion focused on cultural diplomacy and the role of institutions in developing international cultural projects. Sheikha Al Mayassa said Qatar viewed culture as an avenue for diplomacy and an important component of the country's National Vision 2030. The visit also followed the Qatar Museums and MALBA collaboration on Latin American Art: Modern and Contemporary Art from the MALBA Collection and Eduardo F. Costantini, presented in Qatar in spring 2025 as part of the Qatar-Argentina-Chile Cultural Year. The exhibition brought together about 170 works by more than 100 artists from across Latin America and was described as the first major presentation of modern and contemporary Latin American art in the West Asia and North Africa region. In Santiago, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa visited Centro Cultural La Moneda, where Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices is being presented for the first time in Latin America. The exhibition, originally presented by Qatar at the 2024 Venice Biennale, features film excerpts and video installations by more than 40 artists and filmmakers from the Arab world, Africa and Southeast Asia. Organized in partnership with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the future Art Mill Museum, and with the support of the Doha Film Institute, the exhibition explores themes including displacement, resilience and community. In Sao Paulo, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa met cultural and business leaders and participated in a discussion titled Art, Regeneration and the Global South. The event was held at Cidade Matarazzo, a major private-sector urban regeneration and heritage project. She later traveled to Rio de Janeiro, where she met the city's mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere, to discuss cultural relations between Qatar and Brazil and opportunities for further exchange. She also attended ArtRio, one of Brazil's major international art fairs, ahead of Rio Art Week, which brings together museums, galleries, cultural institutions and artists across the city. Qatar Museums launched the Years of Culture initiative in 2012 to build ties and promote greater understanding between Qatar and other countries through art, heritage, food, music, sport, education and the creative industries. Although each cultural-year program has a defined timeframe, Qatar Museums says partnerships with participating countries continue through projects that build on relationships and collaborations established during the programs. The initiative is supported by cultural institutions, government ministries and public- and private-sector partners in Qatar and participating countries, as well as by diplomatic missions. In 2026, the program's 15th edition focuses on Qatar-Canada and Qatar-Mexico, with exhibitions, cultural experiences and events taking place in Qatar and abroad. (QNA)

Source: QNA

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