Art exhibitions create cultural exposure

Bouthayna M Baltaji at the “Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You (2022)” exhibition. PICTURE: Thajudheen

Art exhibitions create spaces of reflections, self-awareness, and “cultural exposure on different levels”, allowing people to view a wide range of perspectives and beliefs, and have a deeper understanding of issues, according to National Museum of Qatar’s (NMoQ) head of Exhibitions Bouthayna M Baltaji. Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the recently inaugurated “Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You (2022)” exhibition by renowned Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist at NMoQ, Baltaji underlined the importance of exhibitions (held at various locations across Qatar) and their accessibility, as well as presenting different narratives amid the various challenges the world is facing. “With the current state of the world, dialogue is something very important, tolerance is also something very important, not jumping into conclusions, not reacting immediately before really coming and assessing the whole situation from all angles. “This is again perfectly reflected in the exhibition (“Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You") in the sense that you have to sit and you have to contemplate and think about what is happening… what has happened in the past and then looking to the future,” Baltaji said. The installation, described as a “pixel forest” featuring 12,000 LEDs (light-emitting diodes) strung on cables throughout the gallery for visitors to navigate, will be on view until December 20. It will allow residents and hundreds of thousands of football fans who will be coming for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 the chance “to embark on a journey of self-discovery through a multisensory experience that inspires introspection and awe”. Baltaji highlighted the importance of using technology and collaboration with various institutions and organisations in presenting a unique and large-scale exhibition in the region. “For us, we don’t just look at ourselves as a museum or a cultural institution, this is why we collaborated with the Ministry of Public Health and we try to collaborate with different institutions across Qatar because we are all part of one government. “We are all part of Qatar and the whole end goal is to work towards the National Vision 2030, how do we bring this to life and we all need to be collaborating and these exhibitions are one form of that,” she said, adding that NMoQ continuously works in making these exhibitions accessible to the entire community. “In the end, we all become role models and individuals representing the country.” “This was Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz al-Thani’s vision, we are a national museum… and the whole idea is to talk to each other (like) what’s going on and does it link to any of the content in our museum and how we can bring it to life so that the National Vision is accessible to the entire community. “In the end, we all become role models and individuals representing the country,” she stressed.