The giant yellow teddy at Doha’s Hamad International Airport is an apt introduction to the importance Qatar places on public art.

Lumpy, old Lamp Bear sits there, larger than life, a photographic magnet for locals and visitors alike, offering just a hint of the many surprising art treats that await in Doha.

From illuminated streetlights to interactive sculptures and everything else in between, Doha is fast gaining fame for its cultural excellence. It might be all football right now, but once the mardi gras of the soccer showpiece is over, there will still be an art legacy to captivate visitors in this Middle Eastern country.

While the Islamic culture predominates, the city-wide art installations pay homage to deeper human matters – like hope, love and life.

These works of art have been created by both local and international artists and placed in both formal settings and public spaces over many years.

Like all good art, these pieces seek to communicate where words often cannot.

They seek a reaction from us. They turn our heads. They tell stories.

Without question, individually and collectively, they add value.

Taking art to the people

Up until moving temporarily to Qatar, most of the artwork I have viewed in South Africa and elsewhere has been in formal spaces – in galleries or at specially organised exhibitions. Most of them have required an entry fee.

Such places, like the Museum of Islamic Art (which will reopen on 5 October), exist in Doha. (Entry is free for residents and in some cases for visitors too).

In Doha, through its public art programme, there is a concerted effort to take art to the people. In Qatar, that’s about 2.8 million people, of whom about 10 to 12 percent are Qataris. The rest come from around the globe.

And so here, art is everywhere.

It is on the facades of buildings, on the pavements, alongside the highways, in the shopping malls and in the underground, Metro.

You can spend your entire visit to Qatar simply viewing the art on public display.

40 new pieces ahead of FIFA2022   

Recognising the value that art adds in building a culture and beautifying a city, comes the news that Qatar is to add another 40 new, major public art pieces ahead of the FIFA2022 World Cup.

The work is all part of a national vision run by Qatar Museums, under its Qatar Creates movement.

“We want to make art more accessible, engage our publics, celebrate our heritage and embrace the culture of others,” the country’s Sheika Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, was quoted as saying in one of the local newspapers.

Qatar Museums is hoping to transform the nation’s public spaces into a vast outdoor art museum experience featuring more than 100 artworks. And, inshallah (God willing), as the popular saying goes here, it will be on view for the 1-million plus visitors expected for the FIFA 2022 World Cup, starting in November.

Many will be at the eight host stadiums, which are marvels of art in themselves.

If these new art installations are anything like what we seen to date (most of which we discovered accidentally), I know we’re in for a treat.

Katara Cultural Village

Most of our initial accidental public art finds have been at the Katara Cultural Village, a favourite spot of ours.

It’s here that cultures meet. This re-created ancient Arabic village preserves and showcases the Qatari culture. It also acts as a bridge between cultures, as it plays host to international , regional and local festivals, workshops and performances and exhibitions.

It is also home to outstanding public art.

But more on Katara in a future blog.

For now, though words are my bread and butter, let’s allow the artwork to talk to you through the following images. (Disclaimer: many of these photographs were snapped on my Samsung as a car or free golf-cart passenger!)

You can also check out the Qatar Museums site for more on the artworks. The Peninsula newspaper also includes a list of all the new installations.

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