Qatar Museums invites artists in GCC to participate in annual public art open call

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Museums (QM) has invited mid career artists residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, both nationals and non nation...

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Museums (QM) has invited mid-career artists residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, both nationals and non-nationals, to submit their visionary proposals that give life into communal spaces through its Annual Intervention, a public art open call.

The Annual Intervention open call encourages artists to propose public artworks that are site-specific and/or community-specific, incorporating the principles of placemaking. Placemaking is a dynamic approach to public art that aims to enhance the quality of life for individuals within a community.  Selected artists will be provided with a maximum budget of QR150,000 to complete their artworks. Additionally, they will receive an artist’s fee for their creative efforts.

Through the Annual Intervention, Qatar Museums aims to transform the common into the extraordinary, inspiring everyday spaces with joy, connection, and meaning. This initiative seeks to enrich the urban fabric of Qatar.

Abdulrahman Al Ishaq, Director of Public Art at Qatar Museums, said, “Our yearly open calls serve to raise awareness of public art while actively nurturing talents by providing a platform for them to showcase their creativity through proposing and crafting public artworks. This also gives artists a chance to add to the regional cultural story by expressing themselves through art and becoming a part of its history.”

Criteria for selection includes that artists should be mid-career with the ability to effectively carry out the proposed project; this opportunity is open to artists living in the GCC region (applicants must have a valid residence permit); the proposed project must be produced locally or regionally; the proposed project should involve the community and/or be tailored to a specific site; only complete applications with all requested information will be considered; and past commissions include Shelter by Marco Bruno and Michael Perrone and Dar Al Tayor by Bachir Mohamad. The deadline to receive proposals is July 15, 2024.