The Purpose of the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art - Essay Example

Your full full December 09, Qatar Museum of Islamic Art A museum is an edifice or an organization that houses a collection of different artworks and antique objects made by different people. It is a place where various entities and models are placed and people from different parts of the world come and view them. For any museum, variety and unique range of collection plays a vital role in the success of the museum. In this paper, we will talk about Qatar Museum of Islamic Art, which is one of the largest museums located in the Gulf region. Qatar Museum of Islamic Art is definitely the most beautiful museum of the gulf region. The museum has a unique design, which truly reflects the blend of ancient and modern Islamic architecture. Lying on the Doha’s waterfront, the museum adds to the architectural beauty of Gulf. “Rising on its own island just off the city’s newly developed waterfront corniche, it is the centerpiece of an enormous effort to transform Qatar into an arts destination” (Ouroussoff). Qatar Museum of Islamic Art was constructed by a Turkish construction firm in 2006. Although construction was completed in 2006 but the museum was officially opened on 8th of December 2008. Qatar Museum of Islamic Art Retrieved from http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=415&pID=1281 The museum houses a variety of artworks created by the artists from different Islamic countries. “The art in the museum includes Islamic art from across different cultures, periods and nations in the Middle East” (Matura). The museum is famous for its art galleries where we can experience an array of different forms of art such as ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, glass, and woodwork. Qatar Museum of Islamic Art also houses a variety of oceanic and textile arts and people come from different parts of the world to view them. The variety and unique collection of artworks housed at the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art play an important role in attracting a large number of people towards the museum. Qatar Museum of Islamic Art is very large and covers an area of 45,000 square meters. “The building seems austere by the standards of the flashy attention-grabbing forms that we have come to associate with Persian Gulf cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi” (Ouroussoff). When a person enters into the museum, he/she feels like entering into a new world of art and creativity. An important thing that can be noticed is the behavior of the museum’s administrative staff. The administrative staff of the museum is very cooperative and well mannered. People from different backgrounds, races, and religions come to Qatar to visit the museum. Everyone admires the collection of artworks as well as the way the artworks are housed in the museum. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the museum for the visitors is the light music that adds to the beauty of the overall environment of the museum. Another considerable thing is the ethnic and cultural aspects of Qatar that the museum reveals. One can never forget the trip to the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art because it reveals traditional and cultural art of almost all Muslin countries. The museum is different from all other museums because of its beautiful building and the way the collections have been placed. One of the major attractive features of the museum is the way the artworks are placed in the museum. The second floor of the museum is named as ‘The Language of Islamic Art’. There are 9 art galleries in the floor. The major part of the first gallery contains a variety of beautiful artworks originating from Qatar. The second gallery is dedicated to the calligraphic artwork, such as, ceramics, coins, and the Holy book Quran. The third gallery includes calligraphic tools, jewellery, carved sandstone, and manuscripts. Just like this, all other galleries are dedicated to different forms of art. The third floor of the museum is named as ‘The Journey of Islamic Art’. This floor also includes 9 galleries. However, the difference between the two floor is that the second floor is dedicated to different forms of artworks whereas the third floor is dedicated to the artworks originating from different Islamic countries. For example, the tenth art gallery is dedicated to 14th to 15th century Egyptian and Syrian art whereas the twelfth gallery is dedicated to the 12th to 14th century Iran’s and central Asia’s artworks. Similarly, all other galleries are dedicated to different forms of artworks originating from different Islamic regions. Qatar Museum of Islamic Art houses the artworks created by a number of famous Islamic artists of their times. “The origins of its artifacts range from Spain to Egypt to Iran, Iraq, Turkey, India and Central Asia” (Ouroussoff). The artworks are organized in such a way that visitors do not face any difficulty in finding the works of their favorite artists. Everything in the museum is very well organized and well managed. The collections of the artworks of different artists are arranged date wise. Latest collections are placed in the main portion of the ground floor whereas older collections were placed next to them. Qatar Museum of Islamic Art has a proper website, which guides people and tourists about the museum in such a way that if a person plans to visit a museum, he/she must come to the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art. The website inform people about everything, such as, park houses, dining options, information about current and past exhibitions, collections and curatorial departments, museum library, education and research, and events and programs. Having discussed the museum from administrative and management aspects, let us now get an overview of the imagination of art, which comes in the minds of the visitors when they visit the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art. According to some visitors, the collections housed at the museum reveal that art is a creation of ideas related to different aspects of life according to the thinking and judgments of the artists. Visiting the museum, one feels that the world in which we live contains many different colors, senses and relationships in it. Moreover, all of these relationships have some impact on each of us. Collections housed at Qatar Museum gives a feeling that the mind of a person makes particular considerations about different things. For example, when we say that the sky is blue in color, it is not actually blue; it is something, which our mind has created for ourselves. The point here is that everything artwork has a specific context and meaning but people predict those artworks according to their own thoughts. Exhibitions are an important part of the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art. The administration of the museum has held a couple of exhibitions in 2008 and 2010. ‘Beyond Boundaries’ was the first exhibition, which was held on 24th and 25th of November 2008. The second exhibition was ‘Pearls’ was held 30th January 2010 to 5th June 2010. Both of the exhibitions proved very successful and played a great role in earning high revenues for the museum. In the exhibitions, different types of artworks were placed, which included, arms and armor, fiber art, manuscripts, jades and other stones, jewelry, sculptures, photographs, and paintings. Every collection had a history, which were able to take the visitors into its specific time period for some time. Exhibition Retrieved from http://www.clicknetherfield.com/case-studies/by-case/?case=museum-islamic-art Summing it up, the purpose of the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art is to display different archaeological objects, sculptures, ancient artworks, and paintings. The museum collects various types of artistic antiques and objects and houses them. Then exhibitions are held in the museum to make people come to the museum to viewed and admire the collections. The museum preserves exceptional and high quality artworks from different parts of the world for visitors and local citizens who make visits to the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art contributing to the tourism industry of Qatar. Works Cited Ouroussoff, Nicolai. “In Qatar, an Art Museum of Imposing Simplicity.” The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2008. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. Matura, Jeff. “Top Five Attractions in Qatar.” Ezinearticles.com, 03 Nov. 2010. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. Read More