Doha, September 25 (QNA) - Qatar Museums (QM) Wednesday announced a wide-ranging roster of exhibitions and events that will be inaugurated beginning 23 October 2025, in a fall season that showcases the full scope and diversity of QM’s institutions.

The anniversary exhibition season is presented as part of Evolution Nation, an 18-month campaign honouring Qatar’s cultural journey over the past 50 years, since the founding of the National Museum of Qatar.

HE QM's Chairperson Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said "For half a century, arts and culture have been a source of pride and unity for Qatar, as well as a vehicle for engaging with other people around the world in a spirit of openness and understanding. At Qatar Museums, we are excited this fall to celebrate the creative energy that has made Qatar into a true Evolution Nation, thanks to the vision of the Father Amir and the continuing leadership of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Tamim." 

Highlights of the QM fall exhibitions season include A Nation’s Legacy, A People’s Memory: Fifty Years Told at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ). The exhibition will trace the story of the Museum starting in 1975, when it opened in an historic palace as the first institution of its kind in the Gulf, through to the present day, when NMoQ is housed in an iconic, internationally acclaimed building designed by Jean Nouvel. Additionally, Countryside: A Place to Live, Not Leave, presented at both the National Museum of Qatar and the Qatar Preparatory School, in collaboration with Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) will spotlight an international research project led by architects Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal that evaluates the future of rural living in regions across Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, the first full-scale retrospective organised by M+ in collaboration with Qatar Museums, will be on view at Al Riwaq, Qatar Museums’ multidisciplinary space at the intersection of contemporary art and architecture. The exhibition includes original drawings, sketches, models, and rarely seen archival materials that celebrate the life and legacy of the iconic Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (1917 - 2019). At the same time, the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and the future Art Mill Museum (AMM) will jointly organise I. M. Pei and the Making of the Museum of Islamic Art: From Square to Octagon and Octagon to Circle at the Museum of Islamic Art.

This exhibition focuses on the architect’s renowned design and its influences from iconic Islamic architecture. The Museum of Islamic Art was the first institution developed under the auspices of Qatar Museums, it opened in 2008 in a building considered the culminating masterwork of I. M. Pei. Both the exhibitions are part of the Years of Culture initiative which celebrates Pei’s transcultural vision.

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha built by Pei stands as a symbol of cultural exchange between Qatar and the world.

During this special year, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art is celebrating 15 years of pioneering modern and contemporary Arab art, showcasing a dynamic blend of tradition and innovation. On this occasion, several exhibitions will mark the anniversary of the museum, which opened in 2010 in a former school building imaginatively redesigned by Jean-François Bodin. Presentations will include a reinstallation of the museum’s unsurpassed collection Resolutions: Celebrating 15 years of Mathaf, and we refuse_d, a group exhibition featuring fifteen artists exploring the tensions between refusal, endurance, and artistic freedom, and solidarity. Most of the works are new commissions, presented by the artists who affirm the necessity of art as presence. 

M7, a creative hub for innovation, fashion and design that opened in 2021 in a building by John McAslan and Partners, will present exhibitions including FTA: Threads of Impact. Celebrating 7 Years of Fashion Trust Arabia, surveying the influence of FTA in reshaping the regional fashion landscape. Also on view will be Houbara Haven: A Chaumet Tiara, a presentation of an exquisite bespoke tiara commissioned by Alfardan Jewellery and Qatar Museums, and crafted by the Parisian High Jewellery Maison, following the success of the 2024 exhibition Chaumet and Nature; and Amazigh Hair Couture, exploring the profound significance of traditional Moroccan Amazigh hairstyles. 

Qatar Museums was founded in 2005 and currently oversees 8 museums, in addition to galleries, public art installations, creative centers, cultural economy incubators, and historical sites.

Through these museums, QM contributes to promoting its mission of preserving heritage, embodying contemporary art and ideas, and encouraging creativity in Qatar and the region. (QNA)