RISING from its own island in the Arabian Gulf, the Museum of Islamic Art, which will be opening on 22 November 2008, in Doha, Qatar, under the patronage of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, has its reception at the Enlightenment Gallery of the British Museum on 27 May 2008. It will be a new international centre for learning and creativity. While welcoming the guests, Lord Jacob Rothschild, Trustee of the Museum of Islamic Art, said, “Beyond the Museum it is also the place of learning and the platform of dialogue. “Museum will develop a fruitful relationship with world class institution like the British Museum,” said Lord Rothschild. The Museum of Islamic Art is the flagship project of the Qatar Museums Authority, which under the leadership of its Chairperson, Sheikha Al-Mayassa, is transforming Qatar into a global capital of culture. The Museum of Islamic Art is dedicated to reflecting the full vitality, complexity and diversity of the arts of the Islamic world. The Museum, designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, is a world class collection institution that will preserve, study, and exhibit masterpieces spanning three continents and 13 centuries. While announcing the appointment of Professor Dr. Oliver Watson as the new Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, Engineer Abdullah Al-Najjar, Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Museums Authority and President of The Museum of Islamic Art, said, “The vision and mission of the Museum of the Islamic Art is to assemble world class collection of items within our collection representing the full scope of Islamic Art. The collection includes manuscripts, ceramics, metal, glass, ivory, textiles, wood and precious stones and also to create a national and an international resource for research, learning and creativity.” Dr. Al-Najjar also added, “The Museum will be the centre for students, scholars and visitors from around the world to share in the history and culture of the Islamic Art and also to reach world audience to interactive engagement. We endeavour to engage people from around the world through the activities and events taking place in the Museum and also to establish the state of Qatar as an international centre of expertise in the field of Islamic Art through employing world class experts at the Museum.” Qatar Museums Authority was created in December 2005 to combine the resources of all museums in the State of Qatar. The Museum stands as an architectural masterpiece 60m (195ft) off Doha's Corniche on an island made of reclaimed land, and is connected to shore by two pedestrian bridges and a vehicular bridge. The Museum of Islamic Art was designed by one of the most admired and honoured architects of our time, Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Ieoh Ming Pei, born in China. The Museum is the result of a journey of discovery conducted by I.M. Pei in search of the essence of Islamic architecture. Pei's quest to understand the diversity of Islamic Architecture led him on a world tour to explore the Grand Mosque in Cordova, Spain; Fatehpur Sikri, first the Mughal capital in India; the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria; and the ribat fortresses at Monastir and Sousse in Tunisia. Mr. Pei found his greatest design inspiration in the 13th century sabil (ablutions fountain) of the Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt (9th century). The sabil offered “an almost Cubist expression of geometric progression,” which evoked an abstract vision of the key design elements of Islamic architecture. The Museum is composed of five-story main building and a two-story Education wing, which are connected across a central courtyard. The 376,740-square-foot Museum defines the cultural vision of the State of Qatar both in the region and across the world, assembling a collection of masterpieces in galleries encircling a soaring, five-storey-high domed atrium. The Museum's permanent display will showcase more than 700 works representing the full scope of Islamic Art, encompassing manuscripts, ceramics, metal, glass, ivory, textiles, wood and precious stones. Objects in the collection come from cultures on three continents, a huge geographical area reaching as far west as Cordova and as far east as Samarqand, including works from Spain, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, India and Central Asia. Treasures from the collection will be exhibited on two floors of galleries that encircle the atrium of the Museum. On the first of these floors, The Language of Islamic Art: A Celebration of Unity highlights the visual elements that are found universally in the arts of the Islamic world. Galleries feature the themes of pattern, calligraphy, literature, and science. The second of the permanent collection floors, The Journey of Islamic Art: A Celebration of Diversity, takes the visitor on a journey through the different cultures that have influenced Islamic art through the centuries. The President of the Museum of Islamic Art, Abdullah Al-Najjar told me in an exclusive interview, “This project has come to light with the direct support of Sheikh Hamad Al Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir. The Islamic Art is not limited to a country or to a region, it is beyond boundaries. We want to make sure that the Islamic Art Museum Qatar will bring a dialogue of civilizations into effect and to make sure that it is a place that attracts many people from around the globe and not only the local people.” __
