‘Art Basel Qatar a defining moment in country’s cultural journey’

Doha, Qatar: Chief Executive Officer of QC+, Kirstin Mearns (pictured), has described Art Basel Qatar as a defining moment in the country s cultural j...

Doha, Qatar: Chief Executive Officer of QC+, Kirstin Mearns (pictured), has described Art Basel Qatar as a defining moment in the country’s cultural journey, positioning the fair as a catalyst for long-term growth in both the creative economy and the wider cultural ecosystem.

Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of Art Basel Qatar, Mearns said QC+ plays a central role as an “agent of cultural commerce”, bridging art, hospitality and business within the broader framework of Qatar Museums and the cultural vision championed by the Chairperson of Qatar Museums H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

As a strategic partner of Art Basel Qatar alongside Qatar Sports Investments, QC+ brings what Mearns described as a “right-brain, left-brain” approach, combining creative depth with commercial delivery.

“It’s about how people experience the fair — how they’re welcomed, how they eat, how they move through the space and how they understand what Qatar represents,” she said, adding that discussions are already under way about what the partnership could look like a decade from now

Drawing on her experience living through the arrival of Art Basel in Hong Kong, Mearns said Doha is now at a similar inflection point. “This is the catalyst. It’s the intersecting point between international, regional and local,” she said, describing Art Basel as “the World Cup of art” arriving in Qatar