(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Culture and art play an important role in realising Qatar's national vision, said H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums.
She was addressing the opening of the CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference yesterday at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.
CIMAM, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art, is holding the three-day conference in Qatar for the first time.
"Culture and art nurture the transformation of a hydrocarbon nation to one based on diversity by supporting and establishing creative networks. Culture connects people of all walks of life; it has no passport and establishes a tolerant platform for dialogue," Sheikha Al Mayassa said as she welcomed over 200 professionals representing cultural institutions from 50 countries.
She likened Qatar Museums to Qatar as "a young institution with great ambition."
"We are proud that as relatively youngster € Mathaf is four years old € we are graduating to the company of museums and institutions in the global arts world from Chicago, Tokyo and San Francisco" as well as other important museums from across the Arab world."
She stressed striking a balance between progress and heritage as key to the vision for arts and creativity in the country.
"Earlier this year, we hosted the 38th Unesco Heritage Conference € with the ancient fort of Al Zubara in the north of our country named Qatar's first Unesco World Heritage Site.
"We are also in the process of converting our old fire station to an artist in residency. Work is under way and the building will open to artists in the next few weeks.
"Our languages and cultures may be different, but we share a common vision with CIMAM: Modern and contemporary art museums have been built as institutional tools that share knowledge and education with society."
Sheikha Al Mayassa also underscored art from the Arab world and education as core mission of Mathaf in its programmes and exhibitions.
"We champion works of artists from this region and through our partnerships with Katara and the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, support their development. We also bring art from all around the world to inspire, influence and equip aspiring artists from the region and educate our communities on international art."
Hito Steyerl, German, artist, filmmaker and essayist, delivered the keynote speech at the conference which also featured speeches by Graham Beal, Director, Detroit Institute of Arts; Maria Lind, Curator and Writer and Director, Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm; Olav Velthuis, Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, and Rana Sadik, Collector Projects, Kuwait.
A public discussion featuring Iranian artist Shirin Neshat on her recently opened expo 'Afterwards' in Mathaf was also held. This year's conference features discussions and studies on effects of global technological, economic, social and political transformations in the institutional environment to develop an argument for museums to adapt their original missions in line with new institutional ethics, challenges and realities.
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