Museum of Islamic Art visit Berlin

Notes and media contacts

For further information, please contact:
Salam Al Shawa
Director of Marketing and Communications
Qatar Museums Authority

The Museum of Islamic Art opening 22 November 2008 is a pioneering project, setting apart the cultural vision of the State of Qatar, both in the region and across the world. Under the guiding vision of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority Board of Trustees, the project sets the founding stone in the cultural blueprint to transform the State of Qatar into a global capital of culture.

The Museum stands as an architectural masterpiece 60m off Doha's Corniche on an island made of reclaimed land. Pritzker Prize laureate, I.M. Pei, was commissioned to design the 35,500sq m Museum; inspiration for which he found in the 13th century sabil (ablutions fountain) of the 9th century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt.

The stone-clad Museum is composed of a five-storey Main Building and a two-storey Education Wing, which are connected across a central courtyard. The Main Building's angular volumes step back progressively as they rise around a 50m high central domed atrium. The dome is concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A glass curtain wall rises to a height of 45m on the north side of the Museum offering stunning views of the Gulf and West Bay area of Doha from all five floors of the atrium.

Collected from three continents including countries across the Middle East and as far reaching as Spain and India, the Museum's artworks date from the 7th through to the 19th century. Representing the full scope of Islamic art, the collection includes manuscripts, ceramics, metal, glass, ivory, textiles, wood and precious stones, and are of superior quality.

Qatar Museums Authority was created in December 2005 to combine the resources of all museums in the State of Qatar. The Authority's vision revolves around the provision of a comprehensive umbrella under which future plans will be drawn for the development of national museums and the establishment of an effective system for collecting, protecting, preserving and interpreting historic sites, monuments and artifacts.