DOHA: Qatar Museums (QM) has announced the launch of Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture celebrating relations between the two countries through cultural partnerships between Qatari and Turkish organisations, institutions and individuals.
The programme will include exhibitions, festivals, performances, educational programmes and cultural exchanges across Qatar and Turkey. The activities will showcase the unique aspects of each nation and celebrate the contemporary and traditional Qatari and Turkish cultures, as well as the shared interests of their citizens.
Safiya Saif Al Hajari, Director of Strategic Cultural Relations at Qatar Museums said: “Under the guidance and leadership of H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums, we are proud to announce that the Republic of Turkey will be our partner country for this year.
Al Hajari added the year-long cultural programme will develop multiple partnerships set to strengthen the ties and create a solid platform which will encourage more collaboration on the economic, tourism and business fronts.
The programmes in the Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture will be grouped under four main categories: Art & Culture, Community & Education, Sports, and Business and Trade. Highlights will include major exhibitions in both countries and a Turkish Festival and Bazaar in Qatar.
Exhibitions in Qatar will include a new show of modern and contemporary Qatari and Arab art from the collection of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and a new exhibition curated by MIA called ‘The Hunt’, which will explore images from Qatari and Ottoman Royal collections.
Exhibitions in Turkey will include a new edition of the acclaimed Pearls exhibition, now seen by over 250,000 visitors in Japan, UK and Brazil. Musical performances in both countries will feature classical, Turkish and Arab music, and festivals will include a Turkish film week in collaboration with Doha Film Institute and an open air Turkish Festival and Bazaar at the Museum of Islamic Art Park.
Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Demirok said: “Turkey and Qatar have excellent brotherly relations based on common culture and centuries-old history. Having such a distinguished background and in line with shared vision of our leaders, partnership between our countries is developing into a bright future of cooperation.
“At the grassroots level, Qatar occupies the hearts of Turkish people. Likewise, we gladly see the increasing interest of our Qatari brothers and sisters toward Turkey. Turkish culture attracts a growing deal of attention in Qatar and more Qataris are visiting Turkey every year.”
“The Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture will constitute a milestone in our relations to further strenghten human-to-human contacts and give an opportunity to discover the potential in our cultural relations”.The Peninsula
