(MENAFN- The Peninsula) joelyn baluyut |
The Peninsula
Qatar's art scene has become iconic in the Gulf and Middle East, and for the past 20 years it experienced rapid growth and steady advancement towards its peak.
Although it has not yet reached its pinnacle, the scene continues to evolve and flourish with each passing year.
Fire Station Director, Khalifa Ahmad Al Obaidly told The Peninsula that“Qatar's art scene has been growing exponentially for the past two decades and in very steady steps. More facilities are being opened and more opportunities await artists.”
Al Obaidly stressed that the“Art scene in Doha in the last 20 years has really developed very much and in a very healthy way that it has become iconic in the Gulf area and the Middle East.”
Moreover, Al Obaidly, who is also the Tasweer Festival Director, said that Qatar's art scene is poised for a transformative phase following the World Cup, with local and expat artists showcasing the country's unique essence.
He said for the next few years, the medium of artistic expression may evolve, encompassing digital, video art, and photography, the essence of Doha and the experiences of living in Qatar remain at the heart of the artists' creations.
“Because there's a lot of subjects here, every time it's renewing, and artists find this very interesting, and they interpret it in a way to develop something creative from this situation.”
The Director also revealed that the artist community in the country is witnessing an influx of talent, with an increasing number of creatives emerging and gaining recognition, some even outside the realm of social media.“Before, I could name all the artists in Doha, now, it's very hard to remember everybody, not only the one that is active on social media, even there are artists not active on social media but their names are coming in front of you.”
One example he cited is Fire Stations' very own Artist in Residence Programme.“We are discovering more and more artists who are applying for Residence Programme, every year, we have 250 to 300 applications, most of them are young and they are applying with amazing projects, even photography with Tasweer photo festival, we are getting a lot of applications.”