DOHA: Katara Art Center (KAC) has launched the Community Supported Art Programme (CSA), the first-of-its-kind initiative in the region which provides platform for emerging and established artists to present their work to a wider audience.
The programme will open on April 29 at the KAC Gallery of the Katara Art Center and will continue to be displayed to the public in an exhibition until May 6. The idea behind the CSA is to create an accessible platform where collectors, whether first time or established, will have an opportunity to engage with the artists and their work, and support them directly. The program works through the purchase of “shares”, entitling each share holder to take home an artwork from the exhibition.
The revenue of each share goes directly to supporting the artist to produce the work. Inspired by similar projects in the US, community supported initiatives have appeared as a way to connect cultural producers with their audience through a tested market concept that encourages face to face connections and community building. Fifteen Doha-based artists have been confirmed for the exhibition, from well known and established artists such as Faraj Daham, Maher Attar, and Mohamed Abou El Naga, to emerging artists Maria Stabio and Christto Sanz & Andrew Weir, and first-time exhibitors Alanoud Alhajry.
The exhibition includes a wide variety of limited edition photography and prints in a number of varying styles and covering a range of subject matter, with the majority of works shown produced specifically for the CSA.
This initiative provides interaction between collectors and artists outside the traditional gallery setting allowing collectors to communicate directly with the artists on their work, direction, and vision. Artists will also benefit through this interaction with collectors determining their motivation, taste, and interest in collecting work from Qatar-based artists.
The Peninsula
