The Majlis: Cultures in Dialogue
The Majlis, Cultures in dialogue is comprised of objects that tell stories. Stories about a long history of exchanges and dialogue in the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Stories that one might hear in a majlis, the space present in every Arab home where people gather to talk and socialize. Stories that recall the mutual – and often forgotten – influences between the Islamic civilization, Europe, India and the Far East. Stories at the core of an ambitious project initiated by the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum: a multifaceted forum for respectful yet incisive dialogue that connects people, beliefs and cultures.
This catalogue gathers some forty artworks from the collection of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, chosen to showcase these existing interrelationships between artists and craftsmen around the world and how they influenced style and culture across country borders.
Faisal Bin Qassim Bin Faisal Al Thani, Chairman, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum.
Kee Wieringa, Director of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum and exhibition curator.
Moain Sadeq, PhD, History & Archaeology, Qatar University.
Jacob Van Gulik, Assistant curator, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum.
Hamda Al-Sulaiti, Secretary-General of the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
Anna Paolini, Director - UNESCO Doha Office, representative to the countries of the Gulf and Yemen.