THE COLLECTOR: Tariq al-Jaidah, right, in conversation with Amit Kumar Jain of UCLQ during an earlier exhibition of his collection curated by UCLQ students of Musuem and Gallery Practice. Photo courtesy of KAC
An exhibition, featuring artworks from the
collection of Tariq al-Jaidah, is set to open to the
public on November 11. By Umer Nangiana
Since the mid-90s, collector Tariq al-Jaidah has amassed hundreds of objects of art from neighbouring countries, starting from Iraq and recently extending to North Africa.
Through the collection, a narrative on the regional political contexts surfaces — its visual creations and productions and ultimately the story that the collector is composing as his own interpretation of a lived collective memory.
‘Postscript from a Collector of the Arab Region-Selections from the TAJ Art Collection,’ an exhibition of al-Jaidah’s huge collection, presented and selected by Mayssa Fattouh, is all set to open to the public on November 11 and 12 at the Katara Art Center (KAC) in the Katara Cultural Village in Doha. The show brings together a selection of artworks of various mediums from the Tariq Al-Jaidah Collection of Modern and Contemporary Arab Art.
“My aim through the collection is to tell the story of the realities that shape our lives in this part of the world,” says al-Jaidah, one of the prominent art collectors from Doha.
Fattouh, the curator, says, “This exhibition is a unique opportunity to have an overview of a private collection that stands as a testimony of socio-cultural contexts that have affected the Arab region.”
The collection to go on display is divided between a modern section commenting on historical events and a contemporary one depicting present preoccupations fundamentally transforming the Arab region. Through subtle references on nationalism, cultural values, tradition and political conflicts, the exhibition is a short statement on the multitude of interrogations and interventions by artists, whose works reveal a fragile and unsettling context of production, says the curator.
Artists included are Abdul Kader El Rassam, Abdulnasser Gharem, Emily Jacir, Farid Belkahia, Faik Hassan, Fateh Moudarres, Gazbia Sirry, Hassan Sharif, Jeffar Khaldi, Lorna Salim, Manal al-Dowayan, Mona Hatoum, Mahmoud Obaidi, Sophia al-Maria, Shakir Hassan, Walid Raad, Yto Barrada and Ziad Abillama.
Tariq al-Jaidah is a patron, collector of contemporary art, and cultural entrepreneur based in Doha, Qatar. As founder and managing director of Katara Art Center, an independently-run trans-disciplinary art and design centre, his vision is to develop and drive a thriving and productive art scene in Doha.
He is a member of the Guggenheim committee for contemporary Arab art, and is a member of the board of Canvas magazine. As a collector he is a regular guest panellist in art fairs and works from his private collection have been represented in galleries and museums worldwide.
Mayssa Fattouh, the curator, is a Doha-based independent curator and former artistic director and curator of the KAC.
She has curated projects, exhibitions, and collections across the Arab Gulf and the Levant besides participating in international juries and talks mainly on independent platforms, a subject that currently drives a research she’s conducting in the GCC. Her name and writings have appeared on the pages of numerous catalogues and art publications.
