As Qatar’s private art scene gathers momentum, collector and designer Dr Abdulaziz al-Khanji is building a platform in Doha that connects Arab artists, informed collectors, and craftsmanship across generations and disciplines. In an exclusive interview with ‘Gulf Times’, the AZ Arts Studio founder said he wants collecting to be personal, informed and connected to the people behind each work.
“The whole idea of creating AZ Arts Studio and the AZ collection is to share the passion towards craftsmanship and the story behind everything that we get attracted to,” al-Khanji said. He sees the studio as a meeting point for established Arab artists, emerging voices and collectors who want to understand why a work matters before asking what it is worth.
The approach comes at a pivotal moment for Qatar’s cultural landscape. The inaugural Art Basel Qatar, held in February 2026 across M7 and Doha Design District, brought together 87 galleries presenting 84 artists, more than half of whom were from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. His own journey began not with an acquisition strategy, but with a damaged painting.
Around a decade ago, he encountered a canvas that drew him in. He admired the artist’s work so completely that he did not notice the damage until friends pointed it out and advised him not to buy it. “I started to think during the night: why am I connected to this painting, and why did I not see the defect, even though I am a very detailed person?” he recalled. “I started to realise that it was something deeper that connected me to the painting. And yes, it all started there.”
The experience gave him a principle that still shapes his collecting: “When you like something, you do not see the flaws; you see perfection.” Al-Khanji’s interests span paintings, sculpture, watches and design. He creates jewellery, furniture, and leather pieces through collaborations, is a partner in a footwear brand, and has designed watches for L’Artisan, in which he is also a partner. He co-founded the Doha Watch Club.
The disciplines may appear separate, but he views them through the same lens: material, precision, story and the hand of the maker. “One thing I learned from L’Artisan is that art is not limited to paintings or sculptures,” he said. “Art can be everywhere. Art can be the craftsmanship and the story behind everything that we see.”
Working with watchmakers shifted him from collecting finished pieces to helping create them. He treats a watch dial like a small canvas, considering a motif’s position, negative space and how guilloché or hand-painted enamel can carry the intention of a brushstroke.
The process sharpened how he looks at paintings. He searches for discipline beneath the surface: the underdrawing, restraint in a brushstroke and decisions a viewer may never reconstruct. He sees the same rigour in stone setting, joinery and dial design. His collection is centred on Arab art because he believes artworks preserve dimensions of regional history that formal records cannot. “History books tell you what happened. Art tells you what it felt like to live through it, the emotional texture of a moment,” he said.
He points to the mid-20th-century Hurufiyya movement, when artists across Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and elsewhere brought Arabic calligraphy into modernist abstraction as newly independent states explored modern Arab identity. A canvas from that period, he argued, can communicate its era more immediately than a textbook paragraph.
AZ Arts Studio does not organise its collection around one generation or market fashion. Established artists are placed beside younger figures to create an essential dialogue. Senior artists bring technical knowledge, context and artistic memory; emerging artists bring urgency, experimentation and a contemporary reading of Arab life.
When assessing an emerging artist, he looks for three qualities: command of material, conceptual coherence and clarity of voice. He asks whether the artist understands how a medium will behave over time, whether a consistent idea runs through the work and whether the artist knows what they are trying to say. “Technique can be refined with time and mentorship; a muddled voice usually cannot,” he said.
Al-Khanji believes museums and national collections form the foundation of an art ecosystem by establishing its historical record. Independent platforms can move more quickly, supporting artists before institutions are ready, arranging studio visits, and connecting collectors directly with makers.
He sees education as central to that role. “I am keen to share knowledge, to share my experience, to educate about art techniques and meet with artists to share their experience,” he said. “I believe this will get art enthusiasts more engaged.” For people intimidated by collecting, his advice is simple.
“You do not need to know. You do not need a theory. You need to experience,” he said. “Go out, look around, pick the piece that you feel connected to, go to exhibitions, meet artists and designers, talk to them, learn their stories and see where you connect.”
He resists the idea that every artwork must explain itself completely. Ambiguity, he said, allows a work to change with the person living beside it. The painting may accompany joy, provoke reflection or offer inspiration and emotional support.
International perceptions are also shifting. Sotheby’s described its 2023 Middle Eastern art season as one of its most successful, with its autumn sale recording the category’s highest total since becoming a regular London fixture in 2016. A painting by Saudi modernist Mohammed al-Saleem sold for $1.1mn.
Al-Khanji is encouraged by such recognition and by seeing younger Qatari artists enter international auction catalogues. Yet he does not want the studio’s legacy measured only through prices or transactions. “My hope is that AZ Arts Studio leaves behind not just a collection, but a community,” he said, with collectors able to explain why a piece matters, and artists who received genuine support before the wider market recognised their voice.
For al-Khanji, the most valuable collection is ultimately a living one: built through curiosity, sustained by knowledge and open enough for each artwork to become part of another person’s story.