Youth empowerment and entrepreneurship has been steadily growing in Qatar and the region. The Arab world, like the rest of the globe, has been undergoing changes. We sat down with one of the agents of this change and an upcoming local social entrepreneur Maryam Alsubaiey, who is the founder of Qtalent, to talk about her journey in the creative sector and their first Bazaar at St. Regis Hotel, Doha!

ILQ: Why did you form Qtalent and how did it come about?

Maryam: First of all the creative industry is very new to Qatar and it is one of few sectors that do not get affected by Oil and Gas prices. In the Gulf, it is in a primitive stage and I wanted to work in the field in order to help it grow. It is important to invest in talent and provide self employment and opportunity for young people on the long run by creating a platform for young Qataris to break the stereotypes about them.

ILQ: Is this your first exhibition?

Maryam: This is the first Bazaar style exhibition that we had done. However, we have had a photography exhibition in Shangri-la Hotel, Doha and showcased two amazing sculptures by our talents at the lobby of the hotel. So we had similar things to this exhibition but with different styles.

Our Traditional Bazaar and Talent Exhibition at St Regis Hotel, Doha features many local talents and products from paintings, manga, books, perfumes, kids toys, gifts, cultural T-shirts, art & crafts and Garangao gift items. The event runs until the end of Ramadan and is open everyday 6PM-2AM.

ILQ: Why did you focus on the creative sector and what are the challenges you have seen so far?

Maryam: I focused on the creative sector because of the future opportunities it can bring and I believe that it is important for this sector to grow. I had previously worked in the creative field that included work in TV, production, writing and design. I love this field and this why I chose to work in it because you never get bored working in it and it is always different and challenging.

Regarding the challenges, because it is new and because our youth do not have faith in their talent and do not think that their talent can be in the marketplace, a lot of them take their talent as hobby only and are very reluctant to make it to the next level. This is one of the challenges I am facing. A lot of people do not get art and the talent behind it, so it is difficult to sell art pieces here in Qatar but it will happen I am sure step by step!

ILQ: Recently you published children’s book, how did that some about

Maryam: This is my second edition of children’s book and they are self-published. This edition was sponsored by Occidental Petroleum Qatar. They have been very generous with me and created a very nice book launch as well. The illustration and production of the books happened within our company Qtalent. The four books talk about safety, environmental awareness and one of the stories is about an old traditional that does not happen anymore in Qatar Alhaya-baya.

ILQ: How can local talents get in touch with your team?

Maryam: People can get in touch with us via instagram or email [email protected] or [email protected] and on our instagram and twitter pages @qtalent

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