Culture Pass members attend party

Travers Lee, head of the Qatar Museums Culture Pass scheme, led the opening ceremony and welcomed members at the MIA park grounds.

The programme, launched earlier this year in partnership with Vodafone Qatar, is open to everyone and offers individuals the chance to experience exclusive benefits linked to a diverse programme of cultural activities across Qatar. In less than one year, it has welcomed 9,000 new members to the scheme.

Culture Pass members have access to exclusive VIP exhibition openings; special workshops that develop creative skills and explore exhibition themes; private tours of QM museums and galleries; and a range of additional discounts and benefits including 15% off at QM food and beverage outlets, and discounts at QM gift shops.

“The value of Culture Pass is about getting something extra - whether that is discounts at our cafés, restaurants and shops or invites to special events and activities like our monthly workshops and lecture invites or members-only tours to our exhibitions,” said QM chief commercial officer Phil Lawrie.

QM and Vodafone also opened the first world-class call centre dedicated to culture in Qatar. The service, which is available to all Culture Pass holders, is designed to help users discover more about Qatar’s cultural landscape, plan visits to exhibitions and educational activities.

At the party, Arif Saeed, marketing and digital expert at QM, Public Art, gave guests an insight into how they nurture emerging talents.

Next year, QM will launch its artists’ residence programme - “Fire Station: Artists in Residence.” 

Saeed said the former Civil Defence Building, known locally as Doha’s Fire Station, has been transformed into a hub and platform for creative exchange.

The nine-month programme will support local artists by providing 20 studios and a gallery space to collaborate with other creatives, academia and the community, enabling them to hone and develop their techniques.