|  | Launch of Perfumery Museum at QAIC's Seasonal Social On Friday, May 14, the Qatar America Institute for Culture (QAIC) opened the doors to its newest cultural installation, the Perfumery Museum, during its first “Seasonal Social” open house for 2021. Located within QAIC’s DC headquarters, the Perfumery Museum expands on the organization’s commitment to art and cultural programming by sharing the story of fragrance’s significant impact to society across time and the world. Offering a mix of both historical and contemporary accounts through a variety of informative displays and interactive elements, QAIC’s Perfumery Museum aims to be a truly unique experience found only in the nation’s capital. From vintage perfume bottles to test strips to challenge your nose, the Perfumery Museum will change how you forever see fragrance. |
| | |  | June 10 Expressions Arts & Culture Talk with Filmmaker A.J. Al-Thani On Thursday, June 10, QAIC will premiere the next episode in its Expressions Art & Culture Talks series. Qatari filmmaker A.J. Al-Thani joins QAIC’s Executive Director Fatima Al-Dosari to discuss Al-Thani's work as a filmmaker and her artistic projects, as well as the past, present, and the future of Arab cinema. This recorded conversation will be shared across all public platforms on June 10, so stay tuned for future announcements on its release. |
| |  | "Creativity in Quarantine: Women of the Pandemic" “Creativity in Quarantine: Women of the Pandemic” is an upcoming virtual exhibition and panel discussion hosted by QAIC and Katara. This exhibition spotlights four Qatari artists and four American artists, whose creative voices have carried on despite the chaos brought on by COVID-19 around them. In addition to celebrating the artists’ works and resilience, the exchange aims to connect these female artists for a virtual panel to reflect and share how they have confronted the realities of life as a professional creative during a pandemic. The panel discussion will take place on Thursday, June 24, and will explore the commonalities and differences experienced from this shared global event by these artists from contrasting environments and backgrounds. The virtual exhibition hosted by Katara will launch Sunday, June 13. |
| |  | |  | QAIC's Museum Series Panel: “Native Stories: Indigenous Arts & People from America & Arabia” On Tuesday, May 25, QAIC hosted the second edition of the 2021 Museum Series. This event featured a panel of curators that manage indigenous and Bedouin collections at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha, Qatar, the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The discussion was moderated by QAIC’s Executive Director Fatima Al-Dosari. The panel explored the modes of curation and display of native art as experts from both the US and Qatar shared their own curatorial processes and approaches towards exhibiting their institution’s various historic and contemporary indigenous and Bedouin collections. |
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| | |  | The QAIC PostScript initiative provides aspiring authors and writers the opportunity to share their unique perspectives on cultural and social topics relevant to QAIC’s mission for publication in our new quarterly A2Q magazine. The call for submission for next quarter (July, August, and September) will be focused on our selected themes for these months: Culinary Arts, Photography, and Literature & Education, respectively. Contributors can range from established analysts, aspiring scholars, or students. If you would like to submit an original piece for publication, please closely follow our submission guidelines and submit it through the form on our website. |
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| | Museums of the Arabian Peninsula: Historical Developments and Contemporary Discourses As our theme this month is dedicated to museums, May’s book of the month is Museums of the Arabian Peninsula: Historical Developments and Contemporary Discourses. Edited by Sarina Wakefield, this anthology brings together academics and museum practitioners to explore the history and evolution of museums in the Gulf region. This book critically examines the development of the museum and heritage sector in the Gulf, contemporary musicological practices, and current challenges and issues not only for museums in the region, but for institutions across the globe. From Steve Steinbeiser’s chapter on the impact of conflict on museums in Yemen, to Serena Iervolino’s study of Qatar’s accelerated museum developmental model, Museums of the Arabian Peninsula is a key resource for academics and students working in museum and heritage studies, history, and Middle East studies, as well as those interested in the region and its cultural development. The book is available for purchase here. |
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| | | |  | Become a Sponsor As a sponsor, QAIC can continue to develop meaningful expressions and experiences, functioning as a bridge spanning the cultures of the United States, Qatar, and the larger Arab and Islamic worlds. It is through the continued support from sponsors that QAIC is able to create inclusive experiences that highlight humanity’s similarities while delighting in the diversity of our differences, thus improving cross-cultural understanding. It is with your contribution that together we can create impact by giving QAIC the resources to become a trusted partner and art and culture catalyst by increasing awareness, creating harmony, and fostering human creativity in society in multiple ways. |
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 | Join Our Community As a member, you become part of the extended QAIC family. With this annual membership, you will receive a more involved QAIC experience complete with additional in-depth content and unique offerings catered to our members. These offerings include priority access to exclusive engagements with featured guests, intimate receptions with visiting artists, and other annual benefits to better serve you as a platform for cultural and creative enrichment. |
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| | | | | The Qatar America Institute for Culture (QAIC) is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that creates, curates, and executes programs and research that amplify the prominence of all forms of art and culture from the United States, Qatar, and the larger Arab and Islamic worlds. |
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