The first solo exhibition in the Gulf by one of Europe’s most influential living painters and a series of exhibitions and events celebrating the ongoing Qatar-Turkey year of culture will be among the key events organized by Qatar Museums‘ this autumn.

The new season of events begins next month and includes a Turkish cultural festival and bazaar at MIA Park; a display of work by two Qatari and two Turkish photographers at Katara Cultural Village; and an exhibition of costumes and sets from the Magnificent Century TV series – the historical soap opera on the life of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

And on Oct. 19, Al Riwaq gallery near the Museum of Islamic Art will host the region’s first solo exhibition from celebrated Belgian artist Luc Tuymans. His display will run for more than three months until Jan. 30, 2016.

Titled “Intolerance,” the retrospective exhibition features more than 150 works, including a series of wall paintings and a new body of work called “The Arena,” which has been created specifically for the show, QM said in a statement.

Tuymans, who lives and works in Antwerp, uses drawings, photographs and film stills as the basis for his paintings, which cover major historical events such as WWII and the Holocaust as well as everyday objects.

Now reputed to be one of the world’s most influential contemporary painters, his works are exhibited in major galleries across the globe, including the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Center Pompidou in Paris and London’s Tate Gallery.

His Qatar exhibition is being curated by Lynne Cooke, senior curator of special projects in modern art at the National Gallery of Art Washington, and it will be accompanied by an illustrated catalog edited by Lynne Cooke and Tommy Simoens.

Cultural exchange

Meanwhile, several exhibitions and events celebrating cultural and historical links between Qatar and Turkey as part of the Year of Culture are set to take place across town in the coming months.

The Hunt: Princely Pursuits in Islamic Lands, at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) from Sept. 16 to Jan. 9, features artwork on Shahnameh manuscripts, which consists of inlaid metalwork or ceramics that explore and celebrate hunting and the related activities of polo, feasting and fighting.

Meanwhile, QM’s gallery in Building 10 at Katara will host an exhibition of costumes and sets from the popular Turkish TV show Magnificent Century, which charted the life of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and which has been watched by more than 300 people in 54 countries.

Magnificent Century, The Exhibition, Special Edition: Harem Al Sultan, which runs from Sept. 17 to Dec. 12,  reveals the stories behind the life of the Turkish conqueror and his love for the humble and beautiful Hurrem Sultan, using the props and decoration from the TV series.

Also at Katara, at the Qatar Photographic Society in Building 18, the exhibition Artistic Journeys: New Angles, New perspectives (Sept. 1-30) will feature the works of four Muslim photographers as they exchange artistic discovery and culture.

The free exhibition includes works by Qatari photographers Sara Al Obaidly and Saleh Al Marri capturing aspects of Turkish life and culture, and Turkish photographers Prof. Ali Muhammet Bay and Hasan Yelken.

Additionally, a four-day long Turkish festival and bazaar will be held at the MIA Park from Oct. 28 to 31 and will include performances by Turkey’s leading musicians and dancers, a Karagoz shadow play and workshop, calligraphy and marbling classes and exhibitions of photography and historic Turkish Film Posters.

There will also be a Turkish tea house, stages, food stalls and a children’s area.

Finally, the artist-in-residence program at the Fire Station, which is due to begin next month, will feature a month-long guest residency by award-winning young Turkish artist Özgeçmiş Özkan Ari.

With work centering on self-portraiture and fragmented images of the human body, inspired by religion, history and popular culture, Ari will end his residency in early November.

Do you plan to check out any of these events? Thoughts?