JEDARIART brings Qatar’s artistic spirit to Chile and Argentina

Doha, Qatar: In a year defined by creativity without borders, Years of Culture and Qatar Museums Public Art Department have taken JEDARIART, Qatar s...

Doha, Qatar: In a year defined by creativity without borders, Years of Culture and Qatar Museums’ Public Art Department have taken JEDARIART, Qatar’s beloved public art programme, on a new journey across Latin America.

This November, the project arrived in Chile and Argentina, transforming public spaces into open-air galleries that celebrate friendship, hospitality, and the universal language of art.

Launched in 2020 under the patronage of H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, JEDARIART has reimagined how communities connect with art, bringing murals and installations into everyday life.

Qatari artists Aisha Al Fadhala and Mubarak Al Malik joined forces with Chilean collaborators through a partnership with Edgar Endress, Professor at George Mason University, and a member of the Institute for Public Art (IPA). Together, they painted large-scale murals on the Municipality Building of Valdivia and the Architecture Department at Universidad Austral de Chile, filling its walls with symbols of Chilean nature and Qatari tradition.

Al Malik’s mural, Love and Hospitality, captured the heart of this collaboration. Known for his use of the battoollah, the traditional face mask worn by Qatari matriarchs, Al Malik combined Qatari motifs such as the mabkhara (incense burner) with Chilean wildlife, featuring the strong-voiced and elusive chucao bird. He incorporated textile patterns worn by Qatari women alongside the copihue flower, uniting Valdivia’s natural colours with Qatari designs to create an easy fusion of both cultures.