Qatar Museums walks Culture Pass members through latest art pieces at HIA

DOHA: Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Qatar Museums (QM) joined hands once again for another exclusive Culture Pass tour at HIA’s growing collection of world-class art, this time featuring HIA’s latest addition ‘Cosmos’ by internationally-acclaimed French artist, Jean-Michel Othoniel.

QM’s Culture Pass tours function as guided art tours by QM Curators and are exclusively available to Culture Pass members.

During the tour, QM experts guided attendees through the airport to view the impressive collection of local and international art pieces, sharing valuable insight into the art pieces and their artists.

The tour highlighted HIA’s newest installation, ‘Cosmos’, launched earlier this month by QM. In ‘Cosmos’, Othoniel draws inspiration from an artefact located in the collection at the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, the oldest surviving Islamic astrolabe in the world.

Othoniel created a large and intricate globe installation that symbolises the path of travellers around the world, using gold to gild the steel structure and emulate warmth and sunlight. When viewed from the side or below, the artwork appears as bright and beautifully-detailed calligraphy drawn in space. ‘Cosmos’ has found a home in HIA’s North Node, near concources D and E.

Commenting on the art tour, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, stated: “Qatar Museums plays a pivotal role in the arts and culture experience at HIA. Their support in expanding our collection of outstanding art inspires  the millions of visitors and residents that fly through the airport. We look forward to continuing to welcome QM Culture Pass members to HIA as we strengthen our commitment to the arts.”

Khalid Al Ibrahim, Chief Strategic Planning Officer at QM, said: “We  value the diverse collection of art at HIA as we strive to offer fresh and creative ways to engage with art outside the traditional museum framework. ‘Cosmos’ is an exciting and notable addition to QM’s collection at HIA, and Culture Pass tours allow us to draw the public’s attention to such noteworthy pieces. We are committed to both growing the arts sector in Qatar and showcasing iconic pieces on display at HIA and other public spaces.”

HIA’s art collection continues to grow as ‘Cosmos’ joins other iconic pieces including the unforgettable, bright yellow Lamp Bear by Urs Fischer, recently-launched Small Lie by KAWS, a series of Oryx sculptures by Dutch artist Tom Claassen, and dynamic installations like ‘Playground’ by American artist Tom Otterness. Other featured artists include Adel Abdessemed, Dia Azzawi, Ahmed Al Bahrani, Maurizio Cattelan, Don Gummer, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Marc Quinn, Anselm Reyle, Rudolf Stingel and Bill Viola.

Under the patronage of its Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, QM works extensively with local and international talent to secure artwork for key spaces throughout HIA as part of its mission to create accessible art and cultural experiences for Qatar’s residents and visitors.