Modern Painters

BLOUINARTINFO.COM JUNE/JULY 2016MODERN PAINTERS 73``````is praiseworthy. Doha’smuseums, which offer freeadmission, exhibit a range ofcontemporary art, as well ashistorical Arab and Islamic art.As American institutions likethe Guggenheim, Hirshhorn,and Whitney begin to integratethe Middle East into theircuratorial programs, Qatar hasalready highlighted largelyoverlooked moments of Arabculture, along with internationaltrends from outside the orbitof the Western mainstream. Tosome degree, Qatar’s museumsare ahead of the curve, withtheir Western counterparts nowstruggling to play catch-up.If the development ofan Islamic art museum was anatural choice, there aresomewhat untraditional culturalÁRZVDWSOD\WRR&RQVLGHU“What About the Art?&RQWHPSRUDU\$UWIURP&KLQDμa show in 16 rooms at GalleryAl Riwaq, on view throughJuly 16. (Both Damien Hirstand Takashi Murakami haveheld solo shows there.) AlRiwaq falls under the umbrellaof Qatar Museums, a stateagency founded in 2005 thatmaintains several museums ofart and promises many more.Separate from the Ministry of&XOWXUH\HWGLVWLQFWO\SDUWof the family business, QM’sbudget is not disclosed,though as oil prices drop, theinstitution is scaling back; 240staff members were let go inJanuary. Nevertheless, QM hascomplicated the globaldomination of Western art byhosting 16 artists from&KLQDDQGRIIHULQJWKHPPRUHspace to exhibit than mostAmerican or Europeaninstitutions previously have.$WWKH&KLQDSUHPLHUHhundreds of smartly dressedQataris, expats, and guestsof the Times conference sippedmocktails and munched springrolls and spoonfuls of mango inthe gallery’s foyer. All awaitedthe arrival of Sheikha Al-Mayassa—for the simple reasonWKDWDFFRUGLQJWRRIÀFLDOprotocol, no one could enter theexhibition until she had. I wasmaking small talk with someMXQLRUPXVHXPRIÀFLDOVZKHQDhand tapped me on the shoulderand a guard gently moved meout of the way. I turned to seeHuang Yong PingInstallation viewof Wu Zei, 2010,in “What Aboutthe Art?” at QatarMuseums GalleryAl Riwaq in 2016.