Doha conference hosts 300 art and cultural influencers

The New York Times Art for Tomorrow Conference was hosted earlier this week at the W Doha Hotel & Residences, bringing together more than 300 world-renowned art and cultural influencers from over 35 countries.

The conference was convened by The New York Times and Qatar Museums, under the patronage of HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

This was the third annual edition of the conference, which has returned under the theme ‘Boundaries, Identity and the Public Realm', and was officially opened by Arthur O Sulzberger, Jr, chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times.

The four-day conference was being led by award-winning New York Times journalists and constituted a series of 'rigorous debates and stimulating interviews that explores the issues that occupy the territory between art and public life, according to a press statement from Qatar Museums. It investigated the tangible contributions art and cultural development can make to economic growth and national identity.

The conference began with a panel discussion featuring Tariq al-Jaidah, founder of Katara Art Centre; Vilma Jurkute, director of Alserkal Avenue; and Farah Nayeri, culture writer at The New York Times, who discussed the rise in the development of museums and galleries in the Gulf, and whether Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states should collaborate or compete in this new cultural landscape.

Khalid Yousef al-Ibrahim, chief strategic planning officer at Qatar Museums, said: 'We are honoured to welcome such a celebrated group of art and cultural influencers from around the world to Doha for the third edition of this renowned conference. Art for Tomorrow is the perfect platform to support our goals and highlight our progress at Qatar Museums of establishing Qatar as a cultural destination, connecting cultures and supporting and encouraging cultural exchange. We look forward to an informative, engaging and inspiring few days.'

In addition to panel sessions, delegates had the opportunity to take part in several affiliated events. In collaboration with Art for Tomorrow, delegates and the general public had a ‘rare opportunity' to view six of the most important Islamic gold coins in the world, on show together for the first time in history until April 3 at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), and form part of MIA's collection.

Titled ‘Masterpieces of Islamic Coinage' and brought to Doha by Dr Alain Baron, the coins tells the story of the rise of Arab identity and formation of the Islamic world. They are described as the ‘earliest witnesses of Islam'. They were created as early as the century of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and detail some of the first dated illustrations of the suras of the Holy Qur'an in history.

Starting from imitations of Byzantine coins, the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan created the first purely Islamic coin in 77 AH (after the Hirja, 696 AD/CE), the statement explained. This marked the birth of the dinar, which is still the currency used in many countries throughout the region today.

During this creation process, other trial strikes resulted, namely the celebrated Standing Caliph gold coin, the world's most important Islamic coin and the highlight of this show. Dr Baron said, 'this is the first step in the process of generating the awareness and publicity that this magnificent collection deserves.

Over the duration of the conference, delegates will also hear from major architects, museum directors, policy-makers and other cultural influencers. Among the panellists is Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi, whose major retrospective ‘I am the cry, who will give voice to me? Dia al-Azzawi: A Retrospective (from 1963 until tomorrow)', is currently on show simultaneously at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the QM Gallery Al Riwaq until April 16.

To read-up on the conference, one can follow @NYTLive on Twitter. The hashtag for the conference was #NYTAFT.