Museum of Islamic Art
On 22 November Doha, the capital of Qatar, will see its new Museum of Islamic Art open the door to the public. The building was designed by the world-renowned 91-year old Chinese-born American architect I.M.Pei whose list of past projects includes the famous glass pyramid of the Louvre, the Raffles City Complex in Singapore and the new wing of the Suzhou Museum in China. The architect devoted a lot of time to Islamic studies during his work on the project and cites the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Egypt and the Alhambra complex in Granada as major influences.
The building, unobscured by other structures, is located on an artificial island some 60 metres from mainland Doha and can be reached via a special pedestrian bridge. It has already been labelled the new symbol of Qatar and predicted to bring Doha the benefits of the so-called "Bilbao effect". The carcass of the façade is comprised of giant limestone cubes and Arab-style windows; indoors the enormous atrium is lit by a glass wall with a sea-view.
The permanent exhibition of the new museum will feature examples of Islamic art dated from the 8th-19th centuries: ancient manuscripts, ceramics, textiles, metallic objects, etc. An ambitious five-year series of exhibitions is planned in association with the British Museum, the New York Metropolitan Museum, Louvre, the Royal Collection of Morocco, Egyptian Museum of Islamic Art and the Paris Cartier Foundation. The opening exhibition - Beyond Boundaries: Islamic Art Across Cultures - will comprise works of art created in 25 countries; each of the countries - including the USA, Italy, India and Syria - will be represented with a single item.
11/2008
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