* Exchange programme kicks off this spring celebrating International Women’s Day

Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture, a partnership between Qatar Museums (QM), the US Embassy in Doha and the Embassy of Qatar in the US, announced on Wednesday a wide-ranging programme of exhibitions, festivals, bilateral exchanges, and events to be held in both nations throughout the year.

Established in 2012 by QM under the patronage of its Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Years of Culture initiative works to highlight and strengthen ties between Qatar and a new partner nation each year. The Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture programme will feature virtual and in-person events, including exhibitions and installations of works by Qatari and American artists; events showcasing the music, film, and fashion of both countries; sporting events; culinary experiences; entrepreneurship, innovation, STEM, and business events; and educational programmes.

All past, present, and future exhibitions, programmes, and events will be featured on the official Years of Culture website, http://www.yearsofculture.qa/, where one can find the latest information and details about upcoming events.

HE Sheikha Al Mayassa said: “On behalf of Qatar, I take great pleasure in announcing these programmes, which show so vividly how the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture will further align our two nations and strengthen the warm friendship they enjoy. Our vision nine years ago in establishing the Year of Culture programme was to foster mutual understanding across borders on a humane, popular level by appreciating one another’s creative endeavours in celebrating Qatar’s win to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Now just under two years from Qatar hosting its biggest sporting event, our impressive roster of programmes demonstrates the breadth and depth of the experiences to be shared throughout 2021 by the people of the United States and Qatar.”

Aisha al-Attiya, Head of Years of Culture, said: “We announce the programme for the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture with gratitude to the partners in both countries who have developed this extraordinary series of exhibitions, events, and experiences. Through their efforts, they have already demonstrated how this programme can bring people together and foster meaningful cultural exchange. We look forward to inaugurating these events and activities, which will show the best of Qatar in the US and the best of the US in Qatar.”

Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar's ambassador to the US, said: “Qatar and the US have been friends and allies for almost 50 years, and it’s exciting to be able to showcase a different and more accessible side of the partnership through the 2021 Qatar-USA Year of Culture. I’m honoured to be a part of the effort to share Qatari culture with audiences across the US, and to do the same with American culture in Qatar. These endeavours are what deepen the ties between our people, and it is an honour to help facilitate that.”

Ambassador Greta C Holtz, charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Qatar, said: “The Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture builds on the friendly diplomatic relations our two nations have shared since 1972. The Year of Culture provides an extraordinary framework within which we can come together to celebrate our longstanding relationship and forge new connections through people-to-people exchanges.”

 

Programmes in Qatar

In Qatar, the following programmes will take place throughout the country over the course of the year, with new events being added:

? International Women’s Day (March 8): A live virtual discussion organised by the US Embassy in Doha and Katara with prominent Qatari and American women on the topic of female empowerment at 6pm in Doha/10am New York City.

? The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Fashion and Art (March 24 to May 30): The exhibition, part of the Tasweer Photo Festival, draws together African and African Diaspora image-makers, many of whom are African-American, based in established creative industry centers across the globe.

? Experimental Photography (March 24 to May 30): A series of installations by six contemporary American artists that prompt discussion and awareness of the expanded field of photography in the post-internet age. This exhibition is also part of the Tasweer Qatar Festival.

? Seagrass Tales, Dugong Trails (March 2021): The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ), in collaboration with ExxonMobil Research Qatar, will present a special exhibition on dugongs. These shy marine mammals have inhabited the waters surrounding Qatar's peninsula for more than 7,500 years. The Arabian Gulf is home to the world's second-largest population of dugongs, after Australia. Recently, the largest herds in the world, comprising between 600 to 700 dugongs, have been recorded in Qatar. Holding both a special cultural and environmental significance, the dugong was chosen as the museum’s official mascot.

? US Embassy College Fair (April 2021): The fair will comprise seminars for school counsellors, parents, students, and other audiences, and will feature US colleges and universities.

? Throughout the year, the US Embassy in Qatar works with Qatari partners to identify and nominate current and emerging leaders in the fields of cyber security, journalism, education, art, STEM, medicine, and the justice system, among others, to participate in the 3-week International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) exchange programme and the 1-9 month Fulbright programme, respectively.

? Jeff Koons: Lost in America (Fall 2021): QM will present the first survey in the Gulf region of the work of one of the best-known contemporary American artists. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Lost in America features more than 60 artworks drawn from Koons’s four-decades-long career, with each gallery introduced by an autobiographical text, compiled from interviews, statements, and quotes by the artist, emphasising his memories, influences and fascination with American visual culture.

? Throughout the year, Swalif, a series of virtual programmes will take place discussing the US election system, entrepreneurship, mental health, media literacy, and education in the US, with Qatari social media influencer and comedian Hamad al-Amari and invited American experts.

? Cinema Under the Stars (November 2021): The Doha Film Institute and QM will co-host a programme of family-friendly film screenings that will take place outside, highlighting American films.

 

 

 

Programmes in the US

The following programmes will take place throughout the US over the course of 2021, with more details to follow in the coming weeks:

? Calli-graffiti (Throughout 2021): A multi-city installation of street art that blends calligraphy and the Arabic language, as inspired by French-Tunisian artist eL Seed. The tour begins next month in Jersey City and will travel to other cities including Miami Beach during Art Basel.

? Dessert Recipe Tradeoff (Spring 2021): Chefs from both countries will be challenged to make traditional desserts from the US and Qatar.

? Pearls of Wonder (Fall 2021): A pop-up exhibition featuring works by Qatari artists inspired by the history of the pearling industry in Qatar to open in New York City.

? The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC, and the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha are working together to organise an exhibition of exceptional textiles from the collection of the MIA to open in Washington in 2021.

? Desert Drive-In Cultural Exchange (Fall 2021): Taking place outside of Los Angeles at Hummingbird Ranch, the film screening programme is inspired by the rich history of nomadic Bedouin culture. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy films in an outdoor desert-like environment, a modern take on the American drive-in movie theatre.

? Desert Racing (Fall/Winter 2021): The unique experience will highlight the shared love of car racing in both Qatar and the US through a series of races featuring Qatari and American drivers.

? Made in Qatar (November 2021): The screening event will showcase works by Qatari filmmakers and accompanied talks at the Qatar America Institute for Culture in Washington, DC.

 

 

 

Sponsors

Qatar Airways and ExxonMobil are platinum sponsors of the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture. Dominic Genetti, president and general manager for ExxonMobil Qatar, said: “As a US company that traces its relationship with Qatar for more than three decades, this is a significant initiative to us because it will showcase both our countries as centres of creative and cultural opportunity. We’re also pleased that our co-operation with QM will include a temporary dugong exhibition as part of the Qatar-USA Year of Culture 2021 programme that will be on display at the NMoQ in March. The exhibition will help educate the general public about Qatar’s iconic dugongs, and what can be done to ensure they are protected.”

HE Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways Group chief executive, said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to be the Official Airline Partner of the Qatar-USA Year of Culture 2021. This year-long collaboration of programmes will empower both societies and inspire mutual paths of understanding for each other. As a global airline that brings people together, we look forward to further building the bridge between Qatar and the US to celebrate and honour both cultures.”