Tribune News Network
DOHA
Through Qatar Creates, the year-round cultural movement for arts and culture in Qatar, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, has launched a podcast exploring the modern cultural development of Qatar titled ‘The Power of Culture’.
Through Sheikha Al Mayassa’s conversations with leading figures in arts and culture, both local and international, and her personal commentaries on the nation’s cultural landscape, the podcast and book amplify Qatar’s position as a vibrant hub for arts, culture, design, architecture and other creative industries.
The podcast will air on Sundays, debuting on December 10, 2023, and be available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Deezer, Castbox and Anghami.
Each episode will run between 30 and 45 minutes in length, with in-depth, one-on-one conversations between Sheikha Al Mayassa and prominent artists, architects, cultural diplomats, art collectors, patrons of the arts and more.
The inaugural episode will feature a one-on-one conversation with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jacques Herzog who is designing the Lusail Museum, a global think tank and world-class art museum that will be located in Lusail City, Qatar.
Other guests who will appear on ‘The Power of Culture’ are artists Sophia Al Maria, Olafur Eliasson and Jeff Koons; architects Alejandro Aravena, Rem Koolhaas and Fatma Ibrahim Al Sehlawi; curators and museum directors Dr Julia Gonnella, Zeina Arida, Abdulla Yousef Al Mulla and Massimiliano Gioni; Qatar Museums’ Deputy CEO of Museums, Collections and Heritage Protection Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz Al Thani; CEO of Doha Film Institute Fatma Al Remaihi; and patrons of the arts including Lord Jacob Rothschild and Marie-Josée Kravis, among others. Conversations will focus on each guest’s background, support of the arts and their involvement and experiences contributing to Qatar’s cultural development.
The podcast corresponds to Sheikha Al Mayassa’s book, The Power of Culture, that is in part a personal guide to culture in Qatar and in part a memoir while uncovering Qatar’s far-reaching plans to establish and support a cultural infrastructure that includes some of the most magnificently built museums and meticulously curated collections in the world.
The Power of Culture also documents how the country fosters the talents and careers of the nation’s artists and designers, helping to build Qatar’s burgeoning creative industries.
Published by Cultureshock and currently available in bookstores worldwide and online, The Power of Culture provides detailed guides to all of Qatar’s museums and gallery spaces, public artworks and heritage sites, as well as insights and memories from HE Sheikha Al Mayassa, along with excerpts from many of the influential figures featured in the podcast series.
The Power of Culture is published in English, Arabic, French, Mandarin, Hindi and Spanish, and is available online and in select bookstores worldwide.
HE Sheikha Al Mayassa said, “2022 was an historic year for Qatar, when our nation had the opportunity to share with the world our culture, heritage and vision for the future. As a legacy of that momentous time, I am pleased to share The Power of Culture podcast, offering personal reflections and conversations on the vast array of projects — past, present and future — that are building Qatar’s thriving cultural landscape and creative economy.”
For more information about Qatar Creates, visit https://info.qacreates.com/power-of-culture-podcast‘The Power of Culture’ will feature Sheikha Al Mayassa’s conversations with leading figures in arts and culture, both local and international
