Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohamed Al-Thani heads QMA delegation
CEO Abdulla Al Najjar Briefs London Media and Cultural Influencers on Museum Opening Planned For 22 November 2008
Doha - Qatar: Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) continues its campaign to promote the Museum of Islamic Art in a number of world capitals. The authority will have a reception followed by a press briefing hosted by Lord Jacob Rothschild Board of Trustees Member at QMA.
The delegation to London is led by Vice Chairman, Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohamed Al Thani, accompanied by Chief Executive Officer Abdulla Al Najjar, and Manager Director Roger Mandel as well as other directors of the board.
Qatari ambassador to UK, Mr. Khaled Al-Mansori will attend the event, as well as the Director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor and other academics, scholars and media representatives.
The event starts with a reception in the Enlightenment Gallery in the British Museum where Lord Jacob will deliver a speech followed by a presentation for Mr. Abdulla Al-Najjar talking about the museum design, its collection and objectives.
QMA aims through this campaign to present the museum as a global institution aims to preserve the Islamic heritage and archaeology and a platform for dialogue and cultural exchange as well as an international landmark of education and creativity. The authority works to promote the Museum of Islamic Art as a cultural landmark which presents the Islamic cultural in a modern and stylish way.
London is considered as one of the most important archaeological cities in the world, which includes a big number of museums and cultural cites.
The reception is part of a worldwide media campaign, which began in New York in March and continued earlier this month in Paris, where presentations designed to shed light on the museum and its impressive collection were given by QMA to the American and French media. The Museum of Islamic Art is the pioneering project of QMA, it is an ideal symbol of the Islamic architecture, which is built on an island of its own on Doha Cornish, and contains a wide collection of unique Islamic artifacts.
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Notes to the Editor
The Museum of Islamic Art opening 22 November 2008 is a pioneering project, setting apart the cultural vision of the State of Qatar, both in the region and across the world. Under the guiding vision of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority Board of Trustees, the project sets the founding stone in the cultural blueprint to transform the State of Qatar into a global capital of culture.
The Museum stands as an architectural masterpiece 60m off Doha's Corniche on an island made of reclaimed land. Pritzker Prize laureate, I.M. Pei, was commissioned to design the 35,500sq m Museum; inspiration for which he found in the 13th century sabil (ablutions fountain) of the 9th century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt.
The stone-clad Museum is composed of a five-storey Main Building and a two-storey Education Wing, which are connected across a central courtyard. The Main Building's angular volumes step back progressively as they rise around a 50m high central domed atrium. The dome is concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A glass curtain wall rises to a height of 45m on the north side of the Museum offering stunning views of the Gulf and West Bay area of Doha from all five floors of the atrium.
Collected from three continents including countries across the Middle East and as far reaching as Spain and India, the Museum's artworks date from the 7th through to the 19th century. Representing the full scope of Islamic art, the collection includes manuscripts, ceramics, metal, glass, ivory, textiles, wood and precious stones, and are of superior quality.
Qatar Museums Authority was created in December 2005 to combine the resources of all museums in the State of Qatar. The Authority's vision revolves around the provision of a comprehensive umbrella under which future plans will be drawn for the development of national museums and the establishment of an effective system for collecting, protecting, preserving and interpreting historic sites, monuments and artifacts.
For further information, please contact:
Salam Al Shawa
Director of Marketing and Communications
Qatar Museums Authority
Email: miamedia@qma.com.qa
© Press Release 2008
