Efforts of museums and private galleries in the country to promote cultural exchanges have significantly helped in raising awareness on the importance of art in a multicultural society such as Qatar, Anima Gallery founder Ghada Sholy has said.
“People now are more interested in art and they enjoy exploring new exhibitions and visiting museums and art galleries,” she told Gulf Times, citing the initiatives of Qatar Museums (QM) and Anima in educating the young generation on art.
Established in March 2012, Anima focuses on two main areas: exhibitions, art consulting and execution. It represents emerging, mid-career and established artists working in a broad range of styles and mediums, featuring paintings, sculptures, installations and all other contemporary forms of art. It is located at The Pearl-Qatar.
Sholy, also a member of the Qatari Businesswomen Association, said museums in Doha such as the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the Doha Fire Station, among others, teach people of all ages to appreciate and understand art.
QM Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, she noted, is “the main figure” behind the booming art scene in Qatar stressing that “she has a great vision and doing an amazing job.”
“We are promoting an exchange of cultures, we bring international art here and take local art abroad to international art fairs. This is very important for the promotion of our local artists as well,” she said.
Featuring contemporary art from the local, regional, and international levels, Anima holds exhibitions, talks and lectures for visitors, students and arts professionals.
With high quality exhibitions, collection displays, artist commissions, education resources and trendy art lounge, Anima quickly has become an important part of Qatar’s cultural art scene.
Sholy said they give school and university students a tour at the gallery and explain about the artworks on show, this month for example, is Lebanese artist Nadim Karam’s ‘Memory Lapse’.
“Their teachers are very happy and they give students an assignment to talk and write about so that also helps to promote art appreciation ‘cause you really have to start when you are young,’” she explained.
“Of course it is never too late to start anything, but the younger the better, and we are very happy when we see parents coming on weekends and bringing their children to the gallery and that’s also one of the very important ways to promote art,” the Anima founder added. The gallery also organises informal talks every other week called ‘Anima Tuesday chat,’ inviting people to share their views on certain topics.
“For instance, we had one talk about the importance of dance to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and to diminish the signs of dementia, we had one about startups, how to start your own business, another was about insurance,” Sholy said.
“Next time we will talk about interior design, it is one way to gather people and each time it will be about a different topic.”
Anima gallery is adjacent to its art cafe Anima Lounge – home to several pieces of impressive artworks by renowned local, regional and international artists such as Ali Hassan and Yasser al-Mulla (Qatar), Tsi Wei Chen (Taiwan), Fernando Botero (Colombia), and Boo Sze Yang (Korea), among others.
“Visitors look and ask who is that, what is that and we explain it to them and get them curious and informed. Even our waiters and waitresses are artistically trained. The Lounge and the gallery go hand in hand. Art is the message.”
Ghada Sholy with one of the sculptures by Nadim Karam, Lebanon, from the current exhibition, ‘Memory Lapse.’ PICTURES: Joey Aguilar
