Doha, November 05 (QNA) - Qatar Museums (QM) has inaugurated 'Mihad' Gallery at Doha Design District, developed by QC+, establishing a new creative platform that brings together artists and designers from Qatar, the wider region and around the world, while offering them an opportunity to showcase their work to the public and art collectors. 
Officially opening on Tuesday evening, the gallery is founded on the concept of "living with art and design", seeking to integrate artistic expression into everyday life and make creativity an accessible and enduring part of the public experience.
Marking its launch with three inaugural exhibitions, Mihad Gallery aims to foster meaningful connections between creative practitioners and individual and institutional collectors through the presentation of artworks and design pieces, as well as bespoke commissions. Its wider programme will feature a rotating calendar of exhibitions, design showcases, panel discussions, workshops and cultural events, creating an evolving space for artistic exchange, discovery and engagement.
Chief Executive Officer of QC+, Kirsten Mernz said the establishment of Mihad Gallery reflected a firm belief in the importance of creating a dedicated space that celebrates exceptional artistic and design practices while providing a platform for creative talent, particularly from Qatar, the region and the international art community. She explained that although the gallery has an international outlook, its identity is firmly rooted in the local context and informed by artistic perspectives emerging from Qatar, allowing it to engage in a dynamic dialogue with the global creative landscape.
Mernz added that the gallery seeks to bring audiences closer to artists, designers and curators, offering a welcoming environment in which visitors can engage with artworks, discover new creative expressions and explore opportunities to acquire them. She said the ambition was to establish an open and inclusive creative space that brings people together through dialogue, learning and cultural exchange. The gallery will also introduce a programme featuring creative chefs, further broadening the cultural and experiential dimensions of its visitor offering.
For her part, Director of Mihad Gallery, Irina Kaletinkina said the initiative is underpinned by a vision that positions art and design beyond the traditional confines of museums and exhibition spaces, advocating their integration into homes and everyday environments as subjects of interaction, appreciation and wider community discourse. She noted that the gallery's inaugural programme comprises three exhibitions: Rooted Elsewhere, Beyond the Letter and Traces of Desert Light, each exploring distinct yet interconnected themes encompassing landscape and belonging, Arabic and Persian calligraphic traditions, and the relationship between light, materials and craftsmanship. She also highlighted the gallery's commitment to creating opportunities for visitors to meet artists and curators and gain deeper insight into the ideas, processes and experiences informing the works on display.
Providing further details of the inaugural programme, Director of Commercial and Art Design at QC+, Claire Kyle explained that Rooted Elsewhere has been organised in celebration of Qatar-Canada and Mexico 2026 Year of Culture. Bringing together the work of six artists, Wadha Al Athba; Amna Al Baker; Hamad Al Feihani; Joanna Johnston; Tissar Lo; and Carl Mata-Hippol, the exhibition encompasses photography, textiles and mixed-media works. It approaches landscape as a repository of memory, identity and belonging rather than merely a physical setting, drawing inspiration from the natural environments of the artists' places of origin as well as the locations to which they have relocated. 
Through these varied geographical and personal references, the exhibition examines how lived experiences, memories and evolving perceptions of home shape individual and collective identities.
The second exhibition, Beyond the Letter, is presented in collaboration with Doha Design Biennale 2026, under the artistic direction of Ali Asali and Basma Hamdy, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. It explores the historical, geographical, spiritual and performative dimensions of Arabic and Persian calligraphic traditions, extending beyond the written word to examine the artistic and cultural significance of letterforms. Through an eclectic selection of installations, audiovisual works, textiles, sculpture, jewellery and experimental printmaking, the exhibition offers a multifaceted exploration of calligraphy as a living artistic language shaped by heritage, materiality and contemporary creative practice.
The third exhibition, Traces of Desert Light, is also presented in collaboration with Doha Design Biennale 2026 and curated by Tine De Beuckelaer. Examining light as both a material presence and a vessel of memory, the exhibition brings together works in textiles, ceramics, sculptural furniture and wooden forms to illuminate the enduring significance of traditional craftsmanship and inherited knowledge. Its central premise explores how materials preserve cultural memory and bear the traces of human skill, manual processes and accumulated artistic traditions.
The exhibition features collaborative works by Murefi and Majdolin Nasrallah, as well as by Sheikha Al Sulaiti and Angela Ramos Garces, alongside individual pieces by Noro Khachatryan and Aisha Habiba Kuchuk. It also includes a collection of ceramic works by Mexican designer Perla Valtierra. Together, these diverse practices investigate the capacity of materials and handcrafted objects to embody cultural memory, transmit inherited knowledge and preserve the intangible narratives embedded in the creative process.
Through its inaugural exhibitions and multidisciplinary programme, Mihad Gallery seeks to establish itself as a distinctive addition to Qatar's evolving cultural and design landscape, creating a space where local perspectives intersect with international artistic practices. By bringing art and design into closer dialogue with everyday life, the gallery reinforces Qatar's broader ambition to nurture creative exchange, champion artistic talent and cultivate a vibrant cultural environment that connects audiences, makers and collectors across borders. (QNA)