Doha, November 15 (QNA) - The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is celebrating the International Day of Islamic Art, observed annually on Nov. 18, with a cultural program highlighting Islamic art, the diversity of its styles and its rich artistic and cultural heritage, which has evolved across different eras and cultures.
Proclaimed by UNESCO in 2019, the day honours an artistic tradition that has travelled across continents and centuries. From 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, MIA's Learning and Outreach Department invites visitors of all ages to look closer, make something of their own and hear the human stories woven through the collection.
The day begins in the MIA Atrium, where a morning workshop from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM unpacks the patterns, pigments and techniques of illumination before participants create an artwork of their own. From 2:00 PM, the Atrium becomes a meeting place for every generation. Guided tours in Arabic and English reveal the stories behind selected masterpieces until 3:00 PM, while families gather for hands-on activities and young listeners follow Na'ima B. Robert's Journey Through Islamic Art at Children's Story Time, both running until 5:00 PM.
At 3:00 PM, Through the Curator's Eye offers an Arabic-language tour shaped by those who study and care for the collection. The afternoon closes on a joyful note with Heritage on Stage from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, as students from schools across Qatar bring the traditions of their cultures to life.
The MIA Library hosts drop-in activities throughout the day: a Spinning Label Lab, bookmark design drawing on traditional patterns, and puzzles that reveal the logic of Islamic ornament. The Planets Kids Club meets from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, before the Book Club turns at 5:00 PM to Amin Maalouf's Samarkand, a novel that traces a manuscript of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat from medieval Persia to the deck of the Titanic.
Together, the programme reflects the spirit of the day itself: Islamic art as a living conversation between makers, places and peoples, one that continues with every visitor who joins it. (QNA)