The Museum of Islamic Art

Just recently, Qatar started to focus more on the aspects of culture and its portrayals. The Museum of Islamic Art is one of the places that offer stories about historical cultures and virtuosity through pieces exhibited. In general, the pieces of art presented in museums differ depending on the time they’ve been created, and they also refer to various religions, civilizations and geographical places. The democratization of museums has changed their function dramatically over the past decades. Anciently, people of high class or the elite were the ones allowed inside the museums, whereas the poor were not allowed to visit museums due to their social status. This misconception has changed, because overtime people began to realize that museums are not about classifications, but free art for everyone to enjoy.

The creation of the Museum of Islamic Art has combined the intelligence of the creativity of the western geometric construction and the originality of the Islamic architect. The museum is distinguished due to its main theme, which is the civilization of the Islamic art. The creator of the museum, I. M. Pei, who is one of the well-known architects in the field, traveled to many countries to study the Islamic civilization in six months. The museum is located on an artificial island based on Pei’s decision in order to avoid having the museum overshadowed by the development of the sea area.

The interior design of the museum is modern compared to its historical concept. The pieces of art are generally paintings, sculptures, vases, carpets, and more. Noticeably, many objects commonly had mesmerizing writing on them, which is known as ‘Calligraphy’. Calligraphy shapes some of the fundamental elements of the Islamic art, where its practice resulted in the creation of different scripts and methods of decorating surfaces or paintings. Furthermore, Arabs are well known for their scientific traditions that they inherited from the ancient Greece, Persia, India and other countries. The presence of science was reflected on many instruments that were engraved with numbers and scientific symbols.

The Museum of Islamic Art was one of Qatar’s first steps towards introducing different and historical cultures. The country is still working on developing its concept of a cultural city through well-established projects such as the cultural village along with new museums.