Marking the beginning of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, several museum departments within the QMA are organising the ‘Olympics Through Media’ exhibition at the QMA Gallery, Building 10, in Katara starting July 4 to September 9, 2012.
The exhibition will display important historical artefacts and visual materials sourced from the collection of the Qatar Olympics and Sports Museum and QMA’s media collection.
The Olympics Games represent one of the few global media events. They have historically been used to introduce and showcase new technologies and production techniques. From humble beginnings the Olympic Games and motion pictures in general have developed together in sophistication to reach a truly global audience. The modern Olympic Games and motion pictures both emerged in 1896, however, it was not until the advent of television that the synergy between the Games and the media grew into the world wide phenomena it is today.
Groundbreaking cinematographic techniques were used during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin to capture the athletes from a range of different perspectives using multiple movie cameras and, for the first time, limited live television broadcasts were tried. The 1948 Olympics in London were the first Games to be covered by a public TV service.
Commenting on the importance of the exhibition, Mansoor Al Khater, CEO at Qatar Museums Authority said: “The Olympics Through Media exhibition is the first time an exhibition has been organised by several museum departments at Qatar Museums Authority. The exhibition will be sourced from historical artefacts and visual material from QMA’s media and sports collections and will showcase important aspects of the development of the relationship between sports and media over time. We look forward to an engaging exhibition and I invite all community members to visit it.”
An extensive educational programme will complement the exhibition with the aim of engaging visitors from all age groups. Educational activities will include a children’s lounge and video games competition as well as a summer holiday programme titled ‘Lights & Shadows’, in which educators have developed activities for children centred on the exhibition’s theme.
Guided tours will also be available giving a deeper insight into the exhibition and gallery lectures led by experts and experienced lecturers including Dr Christian Wacker, Director of the Qatar Olympics and Sports Museum, will be organized covering specific topics related to the early years of the Modern Olympic Games and the relationship between women, the media, and the Olympic Games.
The exhibition will open daily before and after the month of Ramadan from 9am-12pm and 5pm -10pm. On Fridays timings are from 7pm-12am. During Ramadan timings are 9am to 12pm and 7pm to 12 am from Saturday to Thursday and from 7 pm to 12 am on Friday. Admission to the exhibition and educational activities is free.