Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha will host a public forum on the 14^th of April 2018 at 14:00 in the context of Hana Al Saadi’s collaboration with Mathaf Project Space under the title Proposal for a Public Sculpture. The event, led by invited artists, architects, and academics, and moderated by Mathaf Curator Laura Barlow, convenes to expand debates around two strands of Al Saadi’s research: tendencies of self-expression and social rituals, as well as the role and responsibilities of public art.

The forum is divided across two sessions. The first session, Rituals of Performance led by Hana Al Saadi, Maysaa Almumin, George Awde, and Sophie Richter-Devroe, is a conversation on the performance of ‘self’ in artistic practice and daily life.

In the second discussion, Public Art, Public Space? Fatma Al Sehlawi, Sebastian Betancur Montoya, Tom Eccles, and Mohammad Suleiman consider the potential for a public art work to perform a sense of civic duty, and the ways in which public art is used to coerce connections with social spaces and the built environment.

Together these conversations share perspectives on the changing expectations of the individual and collective in society, and the role of art in shaping these. The sessions, which will be in English and are free to the public, are the latest initiatives presented by QM with the aim to nurture a thriving arts and culture community in Qatar.

Commenting on the event, Abdellah Karroum, Director of Mathaf, said:

“As a centre for dialogue, research, and a resource for fostering creativity, Mathaf is pleased to host another thought-provoking public forum that nurtures constructive debates and presents multi-layered perspectives about an ever-changing society.”

Presented by Qatar Museums (QM) under the leadership of its Chairperson, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Proposal for a Public Sculpture opens the Project Space to Al Saadi as she explores experimental processes of research, production, and conceptual thinking to develop a proposal for a public sculpture in Doha. The show is on-going until the 13^th of May.

Mathaf houses the largest and most extensive permanent collection of modern and contemporary art in the region, mainly focusing on the region and its historical and cultural connection from North Africa to Asia, and from Turkey and Iran. Mathaf has more than 9,000 works in it is care, dating from the 19th century to the present day.

In addition to the public talk, a number of educational events and initiatives will be taking place as part of this installation’s exhibitions. For more information visit www.mathaf.org.qa

Cover image courtesy of Mathaf

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