Doha: A rich collection of functional art inspired by Qatar’s rich cultural heritage and created by 19 Qatar-based artists is on display at Qatar Al Fann Exhibition, which opened at Doha Fire Station yesterday.
In this revolutionary project, artists took inspiration from Sadu, pearl diving, Arabic calligraphy, Qatari traditional houses, the desert rose, batoola, dhow, floral design on traditional Qatari women’s dresses, and Al Jassissyah rock carvings to craft useful objects such as landscape bench, tapestry, carpet rug, decorative smart lighting poles, tree grate, trash bin, and bollard.
The collection is a product of a competition that was met with an enthusiastic response from the country’s art community. The selected products will be utilised in public spaces, hotels, offices, parks, and mosques among others in Qatar and in other countries.
The launch event was attended by Indian Ambassador H E Dr. Deepak Mittal; Andrew Humphries, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Katara Hospitality; Fahad Al Jahrami, Chief Project Delivery Officer Qatar at Qatari Diar; Mohamed Arqoub Al Khaldi, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads and Public Places at Public Works Authority; Khalifa Al Obaidly, Director of Fire Station Artist in Residence; and Nishad Azeem, CEO of Coastal Qatar, as well as high-ranking officials from government agencies and members of the art community.
“Coastal feels extremely privileged to have the opportunity to promote Qatari Art and Heritage while providing the much deserved exposure to our artists community and support local manufacturing in line with the Qatar 2030 vision. Qatar Al Fann focuses to unveil the potential of our local artists, exhibiting and utilising their exquisite creations in public spaces,” said Azeem, adding the project is the first of its kind collaboration between private and public sectors and the art community.
Coastal Qatar, a local company that manufactures stadium seats for the FIFA 2022 World Cup stadiums and has several Made in Qatar initiatives under its belt, will organise the production of the selected products in Qatar through a technology partnership with experts or manufacture overseas through selected sources.
“We have been keen to spark the role of artists in the community to explore new sectors and spaces in cooperation with local companies that provided an incredible and practical opportunity for Qatari artists and residents to express their creativity through an intuitive project such as Qatar Al Fann,” said Al Obaidly.
“It is our immense pleasure to be supporting such a visionary project like Qatar Al Fann which would be a unique endeavour even at a global level. Qatar Al Fann stands distinct for various reasons; the foremost of all is that the products represent Qatari heritage and are made in Qatar,” said Al Khaldi.
The exhibition is open to the public until October 27 at Gallery 4 of Doha Fire Station.
