Rachel Hajar's Blog: My Life in Doha - Posts Tagged "sands"
Museums in the sand
Qatar already has seven museums, including the showpiece Museum of Islamic Art, which opened in 2008. In December 2010, Mathaf, a museum dedicated to Arab modern art and the first of its kind, opened its doors to the public. That makes the number of museums in Qatar to eight in a country of 1.5 million, the majority of whom are foreigners. There are plans to build a dozen more museums to be ready by 2015 for the 2022 soccer World Cup. Indeed, an ambitious project for a tiny state but then again, if you have the financial resources, anything goes I guess and no one would question the wisdom or insanity of the undertaking. Another oil-rich GCC state, Abu Dhabi, is constructing a “cultural district” to include eight museums, among them branches of the Guggenheim and Louvre. If the density of museums per square meter is the criteria for the coveted title of “cultural capital” of the Arab world, then the race is on.
Qatar already has eight museums and wants a dozen new museums by 2015. Realistic? Not realistic? Never mind. Doha is the “city with the most museums in the sand”.
Does Qatar need so many museums? And why the hurry to have so many by 2015? Qatar will host the 2022 soccer World Cup and is committed to investing billions in tourism infrastructure and development. So, I suppose the state consider museums part of tourism infrastructure. The expected influx of visitors must be amused and entertained when not watching soccer!
Were it not for the 2022 soccer World Cup, would there be pressure to build museums? What are museums anyhow? The International Council of Museums defines a museum as “a non profitmaking, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, and open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of people and their environment.”
Museums, at least for me, are repositories of a people’s or society’s heritage; a people’s memory and identity are contained in museums. They are a major expression of cultural identity in every society. There are many different types of museums, catering to different aspects of a culture. I have always found museums delightful places; they are spaces in which identities are understood, formed and shared. A visit to a museum is educational and culturally enriching. I never get tired of going to the British Museum whenever I can when I am in London or the Louvre when I am in Paris. In Doha, the Museum of Islamic Art has become a favorite place.
The role of museums in society is also evolving, especially in the last 10-15 years. Besides their traditional role of collecting, preserving, and sharing rich collections, museums now play an increasing role in supporting the development of communities. Museums are using their unique collections and services to address social issues. They are striving to be places where all sections of the community can have a voice and be reflected in a museum’s collections and displays. Since culture attracts people to a place, a museum can also be a place to help shape community identity and bring different community groups together.
I find the evolving function of museums in society exciting, and hopefully the museums in Qatar – present and future – can fulfill these developing concepts and meanings and be places of inspiration.
Rachel Hajar, M.D.
Author of My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
Available at:
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
Qatar already has eight museums and wants a dozen new museums by 2015. Realistic? Not realistic? Never mind. Doha is the “city with the most museums in the sand”.
Does Qatar need so many museums? And why the hurry to have so many by 2015? Qatar will host the 2022 soccer World Cup and is committed to investing billions in tourism infrastructure and development. So, I suppose the state consider museums part of tourism infrastructure. The expected influx of visitors must be amused and entertained when not watching soccer!
Were it not for the 2022 soccer World Cup, would there be pressure to build museums? What are museums anyhow? The International Council of Museums defines a museum as “a non profitmaking, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, and open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of people and their environment.”
Museums, at least for me, are repositories of a people’s or society’s heritage; a people’s memory and identity are contained in museums. They are a major expression of cultural identity in every society. There are many different types of museums, catering to different aspects of a culture. I have always found museums delightful places; they are spaces in which identities are understood, formed and shared. A visit to a museum is educational and culturally enriching. I never get tired of going to the British Museum whenever I can when I am in London or the Louvre when I am in Paris. In Doha, the Museum of Islamic Art has become a favorite place.
The role of museums in society is also evolving, especially in the last 10-15 years. Besides their traditional role of collecting, preserving, and sharing rich collections, museums now play an increasing role in supporting the development of communities. Museums are using their unique collections and services to address social issues. They are striving to be places where all sections of the community can have a voice and be reflected in a museum’s collections and displays. Since culture attracts people to a place, a museum can also be a place to help shape community identity and bring different community groups together.
I find the evolving function of museums in society exciting, and hopefully the museums in Qatar – present and future – can fulfill these developing concepts and meanings and be places of inspiration.
Rachel Hajar, M.D.
Author of My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
Available at:
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
