Inspiration within the I.M Pei Museum of Islamic Art in Doha

When architecture transports the soul
And creativity becomes the air I breath.
I pause in awe
Space defined by lines
Between the container and the contained
Opening my eyes to feel
Geometry as a sense
An extension and a connection
To all that is beautiful.



(Inspired and photographed in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha designed by I.M Pei)

God is Beautiful; He loves Beauty Symposium in Doha

The main reason for my trip to Doha is to attend The fourth biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art, the fascinating symposium God is Beautiful; He loves Beauty, held at the Museum of Islamic Art and organised by Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom.
Last night was the opening ceremony. After being welcomed to the museum by Sheikha Al Mayassa Al Thani the keynote Speaker was Paul Goldberger who is the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker. He described the museum designed by I.M.Pei in its historical context and discussed the importance of the container and that which it contains.
I live in a world of images not words and so to be put in this beautiful space and to have it described by language that I understood at the same time was an exciting experience for me. He described the modern museum as a place that brings together like minded people and that it is an experience for the soul.
The building is a combination of circles squares and triangles and is located on an island connected to the Corniche.
After the talk everyone was invited to dinner in one of the wings of the Museum.
Today the Symposium starts at 9 am and I look forward to learning more about the works of art housed in this mighty structure.


To connect with the museum click on this link
The Museum of Islamic Art

The Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha and Katara

Yesterday was a very busy day. I was wisked off to the Arab Museum of Modern Art to catch the last day of the SWALIF show. It was a collection aptly called Qatari Art between memory and modernity. The space its self is stunning. Located 15 minutes from the center of town the structure maintains it feeling of newness with the permanent scaffolding that adorns the exterior. Upon entering one is met by the majestic portraits of the Emir and his wife Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned that stand over 30 feet high. I was told that they were secretly commissioned by their daughter Al Mayassa Al Thani and were painted by Yan Pei-Ming.
The exhibition was fascinating. It was comprised of locally made works of art dating from the 1960's to the present time. I love the interactive piece called "I want to Remember" where viewers were invited to write on a postcard and peg it to the strings. Now what I really want to remember is who made this living sculpture. I was so into writing a post card that I forgot to photograph the name of the artist.



To connect with the museum click on this linkhttp://www.mathaf.org.qa
The Arab Museum of Art

From the Museum I headed over to visit Hillary and her team at the Ruby Stone Productions office at Katara which is the amazing cultural Center where the Tribeca Film Festival has been held. She had suggested that I not miss stopping by to take in the waterside location that made a stunning backdrop for the buildings that occupy the location. Hillary was running around making sure everything was in place for the last day of the Red Carpet but I had a chance to say hello to the rest of her team.
I was blown away by the out door amphitheater. There were many beautiful building but another that stood out was covered in gold tiles and glistened in the sun light. There were also large bird house structures that fascinated me. The textures and materials used were beautiful everywhere I looked.