Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art

Education City Student Center, Doha, Qatar +97444028855 www.mathaf.org.qa

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Description

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art is home to a one-of-a-kind world-class collection of modern and contemporary art from the Arab world, as well as its cultural and historical ties.

Mathaf was founded in 2010 at a restored old school building in Education City by Qatar Foundation (QF), which is led by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. Mathaf is managed by H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Qatar Museums.

The collection of Mathaf, which is co-owned by Qatar Museums and Qatar Foundation, has over 9,000 artworks, making it the world’s biggest specialized collection of its sort. H.E. Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani organized the first batch of works.

H.E. Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani began amassing a collection of modern and contemporary art in the early 1990s, concentrating on the area and its historical and cultural connections from North Africa to Asia, as well as Turkey and Iran. The original Mathaf venue, located in two private homes in Madinat Khalifa in Doha, was envisioned as an Arab Museum of Modern Art, a site for sharing the region’s tremendous creation of art.

The museum’s evolution has continued as an inspirational site for debate and study about modern and contemporary art with artists in residence in Doha, as well as a location for art production and presentation. Mathaf now concentrates on exhibiting the existing collection as well as staging large exhibits based on new commissions.