Public Art: Activating Spaces Through Beauty

In December 2020, 18 local artists set to work at sites across Doha, with one goal in mind: to bring the city’s walls to life through murals, colour, art and beauty. Named JEDARIART, it is the latest programme in a long line of public art commitments across not only the capital, but the country.

Anyone who’s ever passed through Qatar's Hamad International Airport (HIA) will have seen Urs Fischer's 23-foot canary yellow Lamp Bear, a playful work of art that has become one of the country's most beloved landmarks. The famous bear is just one part of a much wider commitment by Qatar Museums to public art. 

As well as the now-iconic bear, there are many other works that have been thoughtfully selected by the curators of the Public Art Department at Qatar Museums. These significant pieces include Maman by Louise Bourgeois at Qatar National Convention Center, Subodh Gupta's Gandhi's Three Monkeys at Katara Cultural Village, and Calligraffiti by El Seed at Salwa Road.

Added to the mix is an impressive display of temporary public art installations such as Martin Creed's Everything Is Going to be Alright, (outside the Al Riwaq gallery) Ghada Al Khater's A Blessing in Disguise (at Fire Station: Artist in Residence) and the Berlin Wall panel presented at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) in celebration of the 2017 Qatar-Germany Year of Culture.

Beyond their impressive size and photographable beauty, these grand-scale public art pieces have a deeper collective meaning and purpose, one that unites communities and inspires creativity.

"The main aim of public art is to spark dialogue and bring art outside the four walls of the museum space,” explains Sarah Foryame Lawler, Curatorial Assistant for Public Art at Qatar Museums. "Unlike art exhibited in museum spaces that are often temporary and indoors, public art creates a more accessible link to art, where it is brought to the public instead of the public having to actively seek it in a gallery or museum space. More so, art displayed publicly has its own permanence as the artists take into account the fabrication, longevity, materials and its widespread impact on the general public."

For Sarah, public art is seen as a way to "activate" spaces and the overall landscape through artistic expression, public engagement and open dialogue. At the same time, it adds character and distinct personality to spaces, making them attractive to a larger community.

JEDARIART

Speaking of activating spaces, Qatar Museums recently introduced JEDARIART, a mural project that provides local artists opportunities to showcase their talents while adding vibrancy and meaning to various walls across the city. 

The project is designed to foster artistic interventions in high traffic areas that engage directly with the community, allowing the public to explore various artistic expressions.

JEDARIART features 18 local artists, who were each given ten days to create works in spaces allocated in partnership with WOQOD, Qatar Rail, Ashghal and Fire Station: Artist in Residence. The programme encourages artists to express their distinct styles and themes with complete artistic freedom. It also supports an anti-vandalism message, which ties into the ongoing national campaign #OurPublicArt.

"Often graffiti and street art is blurred into the same category, but graffiti in this sense is mostly tagging and without permission, which is illegal," Sarah continues. "Therefore, through JEDARIART, we want to encourage the community to better understand street art. This includes commissioned work through partners providing walls to use legally. This is very different to what we are seeing being done by the general public and tourists on Richard Serra’s East-West/West-East sculptures."

About #OurPublicArt

Qatar Museums launched the anti-vandalism campaign #OurPublicArt in September 2020 to encourage a collective effort to protect and preserve Qatar's many public art pieces. Part of the campaign is directly related to Richard Serra's iconic East-West/West-East at Zekreet that has been tagged, scratched and vandalized by visitors throughout the years. 

As part of the campaign, a specialised team cleaned and restored East-West/West-East in November 2020. Simultaneously, anti-vandalism signage was placed in the Zekreet vicinity to remind residents and tourists of their communal responsibility to cherish and maintain public art. Qatar Museums is also working with multiple governmental organisations such as Qatar Debates to spark discussions and awareness to further spread the anti-vandalism campaign message.