AUDIO: THE MEDICIS OF THE GULF
"The Persian gulf is seeing the most extraordinary flourishing of culture", observes the Books and Arts editor of The Economist. She talks to Roger Mandle, the first executive director of the Qatar Museums Authority, on his plans for building cultural bridges in the Gulf ...
From ECONOMIST.COM
"Having stashed away more than a trillion dollars as a result of high oil prices, the region's ruling families are racing to see who can embellish their realm with the best museums, the coolest art fairs, the flashiest festivals", The Economist reported.
The sudden recent fall in the oil price from its midsummer record may yet trim ambitions. But the scale and number of projects under way is already transforming the Gulf's string of Arab city-states into increasingly important stops on the international culture circuit.
The most recent arrival is Qatar's Museum of Islamic Art, unveiled on November 22nd before a flown-in crowd of more than 1,000 dignitaries. Designed by I.M. Pei, the Chinese-born creator of such landmarks as the Louvre pyramid, the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong and the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the simple, stone-faced structure (pictured above) occupies an artificial island facing the palm-fringed corniche of Qatar's capital, Doha.
Picture credit: Abdurahman (via Flickr)
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