Doha, January 07 (QNA) - Qatar Museums announced the launch of the Lusail Museum Conversations, an ongoing series of public lectures and events that will take place at Georgetown University in Qatar from January 13 to April 14.

The inaugural season is titled "The Late Ottoman World: At the Roots of the Modern Middle East."

In its press release, Qatar Museums said that this is the first of a longer cycle of thematic seasons, adding that across five in-depth talks, the series examines questions of authority, artistic expression, reform, and belonging during the nineteenth century, revealing the foundations of many dynamics that continue to shape the region today.

Designed as a platform for dialogue, scholarship, and cultural exchange, the programme invites audiences to explore, with leading speakers, the cities, stories, and figures of the nineteenth-century Middle East and beyond, added the press release.

Through conversations led by internationally recognized historians and cultural figures, audiences will learn unexpected stories about late Ottoman culture and the roots of the modern Middle Eastern, discovering how people negotiated the challenges and appeal of European modernity in a world rooted in its own history.

The inaugural season brings together five lectures and a film screening, each delving into key aspects of the late Ottoman world.

  Talk 1, held on Jan. 13, is titled "Princes, Patrons, and Painters: The Ottoman Palace and the Challenge of Modernity" delivered by Edhem Eldem.

Talk 2, on Jan. 27, will be titled "At the Empire’s Edge: Art, Authority, and Reform in Nineteenth-Century Tunis" presented by Ridha Moumni.

Talk 3, taking place on Feb. 16, will see Mostafa Minawi talk about "Arab-Ottoman Imperialists of Istanbul at the Fall of a Multicultural Empire."

Talk 4, Apr. 1, titled "Painting 'Like a Man': Orientalism and Women Artists in the Late Ottoman Empire" will be delivered by Gizem Tongo.

Talk 5, on Apr. 14, will see Philippe Aractingi discuss "Heritages: Film Screening and Public Conversation."

This year Qatar Museums celebrates Evolution Nation, a campaign honouring Qatar’s cultural journey over the past 50 years, since the founding of the National Museum of Qatar. Curated by Qatar Creates, the national movement positions Qatar as a global hub for art, culture, and creativity. Evolution Nation highlights both the nation's cultural milestones and its aspirations for the future. (QNA)