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In Qatar, an Art Museum of Imposing Simplicity

United Kingdom Architecture News - Nov 28, 2014 - 11:54   2504 views

In Qatar, an Art Museum of Imposing Simplicity

Karim Jaafar/Agence-France Presse — Getty Images Fireworks lighted up the sky at the inaugural festivities for the new Museum of Islamic Art, in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday. I. M. Pei designed the building.
There is nothing timid about the ambitions of the new Museum of Islamic Art that opens here next week. Rising on its own island just off the city’s newly developed waterfront corniche, it is the centerpiece of an enormous effort to transform Qatar into an arts destination. The inaugural festivities on Saturday, including a performance by Yo-Yo Ma, attracted art-world luminaries from around the globe.Viewed under the light of a spectacular evening fireworks display, the museum’s colossal geometric form has an ageless quality, evoking a past when Islamic art and architecture were a nexus of world culture. At the same time it conveys a hope for reconnecting again....Continue Reading
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