Doha, October 19 (QNA) - The Cultural Village-Katara has announced the launch of the 7th Qatar International Art Festival (QIAF 2025), scheduled to take place from Dec. 7 to 12, 2025.

The event is held under the theme "Sustainability and Innovation in Art", in collaboration with MAPS International, positioning itself as an outstanding platform for cultural and innovative convergence.

Through its exhibitions, workshops, and live performances, the festival aspires to promote artistic dialogue between cultures and consolidate Qatar’s standing as a global hub for art and cultural exchange.

Speaking at a Katara-organized press conference on Sunday, General Manager of Katara, Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, said that since its first launch, the festival has been positioning itself as a pioneering platform that opens its doors to innovation, offering a broader space for the convergence of artists and innovators to showcase an exceptionally diverse range of artistic visions and techniques.

The Katara-MAPS International partnership is a testament to the commitment to backing the arts and strengthening Qatar's standing as a global hub for culture and creativity, Al Sulaiti pointed out.

Al Sulaiti emphasized that the upcoming edition would add further success and excellence to the festival's journey.

He highlighted that the event features a rich program of artistic exhibitions, creative workshops, live performances, interactive panels, and a curated lineup of activities that offer audiences in Qatar an immersive experience of the latest global creative trends.

Al Sulaiti highlighted to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the 7th festival, embraced by Katara, would be the largest one in history, with the participation of over 450 artists from 70 nations, among whom 90 hail from Argentina, implying the anticipated profound participation in this festival.

These participations are a testament to the broader reverberations the festival has achieved across world nations, making it a high-stakes platform that blends the ideas of Qatari artists with their peers from around the world, Al Sulaiti underlined.

He further indicated that the festival will be interspersed with numerous workshops and live exhibitions, alongside interactive panel discussions, making the 7th festival far more phenomenal and special than the previous one.

  The theme of this event echoes the significance of eco-friendly artistic practices and the role of cutting-edge technologies in shaping the future of art, with outcomes that are anticipated to materialize by virtue of sharing expertise among the participants in this upcoming event, Al Sulaiti noted.

He called upon the public to visit and rejoice at the festival, which will showcase an extraordinary artistic experience that pays tribute to creativity, forges people-to-people connections, and interacts with a broad range of artistic events.

Interestingly, the festival will be held in conjunction with the State of Qatar's hosting of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025.

The upcoming event will be the largest one in festivals’ history, by virtue of the massive global participation, positioning it as a world artistic demonstration with a new format, punctuated by interactive panel discussions, workshops, and live shows, highlighted Director of Public Relations and Communication at Katara, Salem Mabhkhoot Al Marri.

Al Marri hoped that the festival would meet the public aspirations, especially those who have profound predilections for art and culture.

For her part, Founder and President of MAPS International and CEO of Qatar International Art Festival, Rashmi Agarwal, affirmed that the festival has become one of the high-stakes global platforms that pays homage to artists and convenes them on Qatar's soil in a demonstration that pays tribute to cultural and innovative diversity, converting Katara into a vibrant forum that fuses all kinds of visual arts with performance.

The key events of this festival would be the cultural evening on Dec. 8, alongside a two-day interactive workshop to be presented by global artists.

On Dec. 9, the festival will host the art conference and interactive dialogues, while the following day will be dedicated to the cultural networking dinner, converging artists, leaders, and distinguished dignitaries.

On Dec. 11, a fashion art showcase will take place, followed by the art auction, culminating the festival on Dec. 12 with the official awards ceremony, marking the grand conclusion of the festival’s prestigious program.

  Throughout the festival, the public is set to rejoice in an awe-inspiring prolific artistic experience featuring artistic and international showcases, live painting, and performances that infuse the atmosphere with energy and renewed creativity. (QNA)