Qatar’s Mohammed Al Atiq showcases his art at Saudi Arabia’s ‘Destination’ exhibition, adding to his extensive contributions to the Gulf’s cultural landscape, including public installations and leadership roles in art associations.

Qatar’s Mohammed Al Atiq is among the region’s luminaries showcasing at Saudi Arabia’s ‘Destination’ art exhibition.

Located in the Gulf kingdom’s Al Ahsa, Dar Noura Al Mousa’s art gallery is displaying the artworks of 30 artists, including the renowned Al Atiq, with its walls beautifully adorned by their diverse and captivating creations.

Joining Al Atiq, fellow artists, such as Saudi’s Ola A Hejazi, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Otaibi and Bahrain’s Jaffar Al Oraibi, are positively contributing to sharing the vibrancy of the Gulf’s art scene.

The ‘Destinations’ exhibition adds to Al Atiq’s wealth of contributions to the region’s cultural landscape.

On home soil, in 2022, Qatar Museums in cooperation with the Qatari  Public Works Authority (Ashghal) unveiled Al Atiq’s ‘Acacia-Tree Seed’ public installation at Post Office Park.

The installation represented the artist’s exploration of the good and bad in human nature, exploring how goodness can prevail over time, through generations.

Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of Ashghal, remarked during a tour of the public artwork that Al Atiq’s creation reflected “Qatar’s identity and [contributes] to creating a distinctive spirit.”

Al Atiq also chaired the Qatar Fine Arts Association from 2006 to 2013.

The association aims to discover talent as well as promote and support Qatar’s artists locally and abroad. During his headship of the association, Al Atiq was also the general manager of Regency Art. The organisation strove to educate the Qatari community about the importance of bolstering the national art scene through hosting workshops – especially for the local youth.

His first international exhibition dates back to 2002 in Italy.

During an interview with the Qatar Career Development Center, he offered sombre advice to the nation’s budding artists.

“First of all, you must develop a passion for art and love this profession from your heart because it is not easy. You will need to put in a lot of effort as you will face challenges, and you also must set a goal for yourself. It is also important to continue the journey where other artists have finished and not start from scratch as this will save you many years of learning,” he said.