Despite a minor fire last month, construction for Qatar’s upcoming National Museum remains on track, and an opening date is scheduled for 2016, Qatar Museums has confirmed.
When completed, the museum, located across from the Corniche near the Museum of Islamic Art, is expected to look like a desert rose that appears to grow out of the ground.
It will join Qatar’s growing collection of cultural facilities, including the MIA, which opened in 2008, and the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf), which saw a 2010 launch.
Late last year, Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani was appointed as the museum’s director.
Her role includes providing “curatorial and managerial leadership,” and supervising educational initiatives, special exhibitions and conferences, and public programs once the museum is open.
Timeline
Previously, a QM spokesperson said that construction on the National Museum is expected to be finished in December. More recently, a representative added that it would take six months for the cement “off-gassing,” or the release of emissions trapped inside the facility, to occur.
Installation of artwork is expected to take about a year after that, the spokesperson said.
In terms of which art pieces would be displayed inside the museum, QM has previously said that the facility would represent the “past, present and future of Qatar.”
The authority announced today that some items to be included in the museum are pieces of jewelry donated by Sheikha Maryam bint Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani on behalf of her late sister, Sheikha Aisha bint Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, who died earlier this year.
The objects include a few gold items and a pearl necklace belonging to the collection of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani.
In a statement, QM chairperson Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani said:
“The National Museum of Qatar is very happy to receive donations from members of the community. These objects will be preserved and shared with the public in order to ensure that our heritage and culture remain long after us.”
We thank all who contributed and continue to do so through the donation of objects, knowledge or oral histories. It’s because of your efforts that the NMoQ will achieve success when it opens in 2016.”
Visual update
In this video published on YouTube in late April, QMA offers a peek into the construction of the National Museum.
The five-minute video contains beautiful aerial perspectives of the development and interviews with key figures, including French architect Jean Nouvel, who designed the museum.
It also shows that the heart of the new development will be the original national museum, which opened in 1975, and was also the former Emiri palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani.
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