Doha, Qatar: The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum (3-2-1 QOSM) on Sunday inaugurated the '3-2-1 Cultural Olympiad' exhibition, featuring close to 400 original artworks crafted by students from 28 public and private schools nationwide.
The initiative reaffirms the museum's steadfast commitment to education, creative expression, and the deeply rooted values of the Olympic movement.
The event celebrated the synergy between sport and art, as students drew upon the museum’s collections to delve into the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, articulating them through incredible and impactful artistic works that embody the true spirit of Olympism.
The exhibition comes as part of the '3-2-1 Cultural Olympiad' program, which is set to conclude on Jun. 24 with a special award ceremony to pay tribute to exceptional student works, with the participation of school principals, teachers, students, members of the judging panel, as well as representatives from key partner entities such as the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Qatar International Art Festival.
The program is an innovative initiative inspired by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games. It blends sport and art, highlights the nexus between artistic expression and athletic excellence, and seeks to revive the original Olympic vision.
Director of 3-2-1 QOSM Abdulla Yousuf Al Mulla highlighted to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the exhibition epitomizes the QOSM's program on the culture of Olympiad through employing artworks inspired by students and accordingly expressed their artistic talents before the visiting folks.
The idea of this expo started in January 2025, which received numerous students' artworks and were put under technical evaluation and ultimately shortlisted to 400 works, the best ones, Al Mulla said, noting the students' creative talents that produced these incredible artworks to be showcased at the expo.
The showcased artworks reflected a high artistic standard, created by students from both public and private schools, and portrayed stories from the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, highlighting their engagement with Olympic values and creative skill, Al Mulla highlighted.
He invited folks to visit the exhibition and discover the students’ promising works, indicating that the initiative celebrates the nation's growing preeminence on the global sports stage, inspires the next generation to appreciate the cultural and human dimensions of sport, and reaffirms the commitment to reviving Olympic values through art, education, and creative expression.
Speaking to QNA, Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad, recipient of the State Appreciation Award in its sixth cycle for visual arts, touted the QOSM's role in promoting the arts and showcasing student creativity in a way that enriches public artistic sensibility and bridges the gap between its institutional role and society at large.
The expo evidently reinforces Olympic culture among students by nurturing their artistic talents from an early age, aligning with the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Raising the current generation on art, refining their talent, and encouraging family support lays the groundwork for a burgeoning artistic generation and encourages broader community engagement, thereby contributing to the creation of a vibrant and integrated artistic environment within society, Ahmad highlighted.
Ahmad underscored the imperative of investing in students' artistic talents by enrolling them in formal academic programs in the arts to further promote their capabilities. He also called for engaging youth in diverse sports activities through the creation of refined artistic designs that reflect the core values and objectives of sport.
Overall, the event embodies a deeply rooted Olympic tradition, as the Games themselves honored artistic excellence between 1912 and 1948 by awarding gold, silver, and bronze medals in fields such as visual arts, literature, sculpture, music, and architecture, on par with athletic competitions.
