Doha, Qatar: Each year, the International Day of Education – marked on 24 January – offers an opportunity to explore how learning takes place across different settings. Alongside formal education systems, cultural and public spaces are increasingly part of this landscape.

Museums have become spaces where this broader view of learning is made visible. Through immersive experiences, dialogue, and creative practice, they create environments in which learning unfolds through exploration.

In Qatar, this role is evident within Education City, where cultural institutions sit alongside schools and universities as part of a wider educational ecosystem. Here, Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum, founded by Qatar Foundation and honoring the iconic modern artist Maqbool Fida Husain, approaches education through an enduring relationship with art as a form of learning.

Its Learning and Outreach Program, launched last month, is centered on time spent in the galleries, where guided observation and dialogue provide the starting point for learning. Participants then move into practical workshops shaped by what they have seen and discussed. Designed for all ages, the program includes school visits, family sessions, and public workshops. These activities complement classroom learning through visual exploration, storytelling, and creative projects.

"Education through art is not about delivering fixed answers," said Jowaher Al Marri, Manager of Communications Outreach at Qatar Foundation. "It is about creating optimal conditions for curiosity, interpretation, and independent thinking. Museums offer a different kind of learning space where people are encouraged to slow down, question what they see, and build meaning through observation, conversation, and creative response."

School groups visit the museum to extend classroom work, looking at Husain's use of movement and then experimenting with their own gestural drawings. On weekends, family programs bring multiple generations together, creating shared spaces for adults and children to inspire one another with their own perspectives.

Learning at the museum is encouraged through discovery and is designed as a process rather than a one-off encounter. Younger children are introduced to visual language through activities focused on color, shape, movement, and mark-making, while older participants engage with more complex themes such as identity, memory, urban life, and abstraction.

Across age groups, workshops encourage participants to translate observation into action, allowing art to become a tool for expression, interpretation, and shared discovery.

The museum's educational work extends beyond its regular programming. An ongoing collaboration with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art brings together art, wellbeing, and interdisciplinary practice through workshops and public discussions running throughout January, including a panel with artists, healers, and clinicians exploring mental health through creative practice.

Through initiatives such as its collaboration with Mathaf and its ongoing workshops, the museum demonstrates what the International Day of Education emphasizes: that learning should be open and meaningful for everyone. Museums like Lawh Wa Qalam are growing in importance, showing how art can help people learn in thoughtful, creative, and truly human ways.

For more information about the Learning and Outreach Program of Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum, visit https://lawhwaqalam.org.qa/, and follow on Instagram at @lawhwaqalam.

About Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum

Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum, founded by Qatar Foundation, is dedicated to celebrating the life and work of Maqbool Fida Husain, one of the most influential figures in the history of modern art. It showcases Husain’s multidisciplinary practice, bringing together his work across paintings, film, sculptures, tapestry, and photography.

Located in Education City, Doha, the museum goes beyond a traditional museum experience. Through experiences, multimedia installations, and archival materials, it brings to life the ideas, inspirations, and memories that shaped Husain’s artistic vision and distinctive visual language.

Designed from a concept sketch by Husain himself, the museum spans over 3,000 square meters and features a wide range of original works, along with personal items that offer deeper insights into his life and his multidisciplinary artistic practice. Beyond its exhibitions, the museum will host learning programs for visitors of all ages.

Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum strengthens Education City’s role as a global hub for multidisciplinary experiences, where art and culture intersect with learning, innovation, and exploration.

Qatar Foundation – Unlocking Human Potential

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is a non-profit organization focused on education, research and innovation, and community development that supports Qatar on its journey to becoming a diversified and sustainable economy. Across its ecosystem comprising more than 50 entities, QF strives to serve the people of Qatar and beyond through its work across progressive education, sustainability, artificial intelligence, precision healthcare, and social progress.

QF was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who shared the vision to provide Qatar with quality education. This vision has evolved into a globally unique, multidisciplinary ecosystem of knowledge offering opportunities for lifelong learning, fostering innovation, and empowering people to be socially engaged citizens and drivers of positive change.

This diverse and interconnected ecosystem comprises a world-class education landscape spanning the full spectrum of learning from pre-school to post-doctoral level; research, innovation, and policy centers addressing global challenges; alongside community facilities for people of all ages to seek knowledge, embrace active lifestyles, and expand their horizons within QF’s Education City, spanning 12 square kilometers in Doha, Qatar. Through a unique approach to multidisciplinary, global education, Education City represents Qatar Foundation’s large-scale legacy investment focused on building human capacity for the future of Qatar, the region, and the world.

For a complete list of QF’s initiatives and projects, please visit: www.qf.org.qa 

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For any media inquiries, please contact: pressoffice@qf.org.qa