QNA
Doha
The fourth edition of Qatar International Art Festival kicked off on Monday amid participation of 300 artists from 65 countries. The festival is organised by the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) in collaboration with Maps International WLL company.
As part of the festival, a gallery of more than 600 artworks ranging from visual arts, costumes and sculptures that adopt various artistic schools and techniques will be held in Buildings 18 and 19 and at the halls opposite Buildings 15, 18 and 19.
The festival will also feature a variety of activities that include an exhibition of paintings and sculpture, a life-drawing seminar, a fashion show inspired by participating works, art workshops, a panel, a cultural evening and musical shows.
This global event will run until September 30 with an awards ceremony.
Speaking at the inauguration, Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti said the festival affirms Katara’s success to be a forum for artists and a bridge for intercommunication.
“Such festivals enrich Qatar’s cultural arena and highlights the country’s major role in activating the artistic movement and exchanging experiences among artists. The festival gives the audience an opportunity to know about visual arts that include paintings which go on view in international exhibitions,” Sulaiti said.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by a host of ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions accredited to Qatar as well as a number of artists and audiences interested in fine arts.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Artist Rashmi Agarwal, who is the founder and president of Maps International WLL, hailed Katara for hosting the increasingly flourishing event, which serves as a professional platform for artists from Qatar and across the world as well as a host of experts, critics, academics and fine arts audience.
Qatari artist Sheikha Hamda Al Thani, from Qatar Fine Arts Association, said that she always made an excellent and influential participation in all of the festival’s previous editions.
This edition will be extremely outstanding and more developed amid further participations of a larger number of artists, she added.
Sheikha Hamda Al Thani, well-renowned for her oil paintings, will be presenting a painting on dusk on a Qatari beach.
Artist Abdulhameed Al Siddiqi said he participated in this edition for the first time with five paintings on predators like tigers and cheetahs and falcons. His paintings include two oil paintings, two pastel paintings and one ceramic painting.
