Rubaiya Qatar to launch in November with more than 120 artists from 45 countries

Qatar Museums today announced the program of exhibitions and events for the inaugural edition of the Qatar Quartet, a new international visual arts festival held every four years, the first of which will begin on November 21 and run until April 30, 2027.

The inaugural edition of the Qatar Quartet is held under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums, organized by Al Riwaq Art and Architecture.

The Qatar Quartet aims to inspire and empower new generations of artists and thinkers, using Qatar's vibrant cultural scene as a platform to launch their visions and work. The Qatar Quartet is spread across multiple locations in Doha, including the renovated Al Riwaq Art and Architecture Building, the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar Museums Gallery-Katara and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, as well as public sites across the country.

The first session will focus on global environmental issues, the social, political, economic and cultural importance of water, and the maritime heritage that has contributed to strengthening ties between Qatar and the world. The Qatar Quartet brings together exhibitions and works of public art with the participation of more than 120 artists from Qatar, the region and the world, representing more than 45 countries.

"The organization of the Qatar Quartet embodies our commitment to creating platforms that allow artists to conduct artistic research, experimentation, and produce works in the long term," said Her Excellency Sheikha Reem Al Thani, Executive Vice President of Qatar Museums for the Gallery, Public Art and Quartet, noting that the Qatar Quartet brings together artists, curators, and researchers from Qatar and around the world, with the aim of generating new knowledge and fostering creative exchange.

Through exhibitions, public art, and public-oriented programs, the Qatar Quartet offers opportunities for sustainable collaboration and artistic innovation, and cements Qatar's position as a hub for ideas and visions that will shape the future of generations of artists, intellectuals and the public.

Sheikha Alanoud Al Thani, Director of the Qatar Quartet, said: "The launch of the Qatar Quartet is a milestone, as Doha has become a platform through which contemporary art from our region and beyond is presented to the world, and by highlighting non-Western perspectives, supporting new and ambitious artistic commissions, and placing environmental and historical research at the heart of its value vision, the Qatar Quartet is offering a renewed model for international exhibitions of contemporary art."

The inaugural edition of the Qatar Quartet is headlined by the main exhibition "Wild Water", curated by Tom Eccles, Ruba Qatarib, Shabir Hussain Mustafa and Marc Rabault. It features more than 30 new commissions by artists including Bani Abidi (Pakistan), Lawrence Abu Hamdan (Lebanon/UK), Safia Al Maria (Qatar), Majid Al Rumaihi (Qatar), Mohammed Burweisa (France/Algeria), Alia Farid (Puerto Rico/Kuwait), Ayung Kim (South Korea), Charles Lam (Singapore), Naeem Mohaimen (Bangladesh) and Yoko Mori (Japan).

The exhibition, which opens on November 21, will feature a wide range of media and art forms, ranging from films, sculptures, paintings and installations to food, live performances, community initiatives and workshops, as well as artworks and collectibles, including pieces from the 10th-century wreck of the 10th-century Cerbonne, as well as contemporary art commissions and works from the collections of the Museum of Islamic Art.

The exhibition explores the relationship between water and humanity, the role of wind, sea currents and trade networks in shaping communication between cultures throughout history, and the Gulf within these networks.

One of the exhibitions included in the first edition of the Qatar Quartet is the exhibition "When We Fall Together" at Qatar Museums Gallery-Katara, starting on November 22, with the participation of 12 artists and art groups, and includes four new commissions that address the human relationship with water and its uses in daily life, agriculture and industry, as well as issues of sustainability and environmental change, through artworks that explore seas, rivers, lakes, drought and water desalination.

"The artists participating in the exhibition explore our interconnectedness with the natural world, and from Qatar, the works on display have established connections with diverse geographical contexts," said Lina Betmli, curator of the exhibition, noting that the exhibition is not limited to interacting with the pressing environmental issues of the exhibition, but also extends to building on the exhibitions and programs previously organized by Qatar Museums, reaffirming its commitment to environmental sustainability.

Among the highlights of the exhibition are a sculpture by Australian artist Taloy Haynie with a courtyard garden designed by conservationist Dr. Aspa Dr. Khatzivthimiou, who has employed desert and mangrove plants to evoke the landscape and coastline of Qatar; and an environmental work by the Litent Community Group (Greece), which explores the diversity of Qatar's terrain, from rocky deserts and sand dunes to natural depressions and tidal zones, in a meditation on the ecosystems between the desert and the Sea, a film by Miguel Fernández de Castro (Mexico), explores the concept of purity by exploring the relationship between Arabian horses and the process of desalination and salt.

Hosted by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, from 22 November, the exhibition "A Sealed Sea" brings together more than 50 artists from Qatar and across the Arab and Islamic world, featuring more than 80 works from the museum's collections and loaned works, as well as a new commission by artist Jassim Al-Sane. The exhibition explores the relationship of the Gulf peoples to the sea through folklore and crafts.

Wadha Al Aqeedi, curator at Qatar Museums, said: "The people of the Gulf have lived on the sea's riches over the years, and have understood its secrets through folklore. This exhibition explores that relationship through the works of three generations of artists from across the Gulf coast, who have returned to the sea again and again to explore, document, celebrate and today to inherit its condition and loss. The programme also includes new works of public art at various locations in the country, including the Museum of Islamic Art Park, the Museum of Future Art Museum, Barzan Towers, the National Museum of Qatar Metro Station, Al Khor City, and Al Qubaib Mosque Square.

The accompanying activities include artistic dialogues, lectures, performance and cinematic performances, tours and workshops, with the participation of more than 130 artists, curators, intellectuals, educators and creatives in the cultural field.

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