Qatar Museums is set to open a first-of-its-kind exhibition exploring art and architecture from Pakistan, titled ‘MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today’ to the public on Friday, according to a statement released by Qatar Museums.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Amir of State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his sister and Chair person of Qatar Museums H.E. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani visited the exhibit today in Doha.
MANZAR – an Urdu and Arabic word meaning scene, view, landscape, or perspective – is set to feature over 200 artworks, including paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, sculptures, installations by Pakistani artists.
It will aim to present various views of the country’s artistic and architectural movements, added the press release.
The exhibit has been organised by the future Art Mill Museum in collaboration with the Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar which will host the exhibition until January 31, 2025.
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The exhibition begins chronologically with artists such as Abdur Rahman Chughtai and Zainul Abedin, who worked during the British Raj that ruled the subcontinent between 1858 and 1947, and continued their practices in what became West and East Pakistan, as per the press release.
It also features the works of eminent artists such as Ismail Gulgee, Sadequain, Imran Qureshi, Rashid Rana, Hamra Abbas, Rasheed Araeen and Hamra Abbas among others.
“By bringing the works of exceptional Pakistani artists and architects to Qatar, this exhibition affirms their contributions to their own nation and to the heritage of the world,“Mohammed Al Rumaihi, CEO of Qatar Museums was quoted as saying in the press statement.
“We are especially proud to present this exhibition emphasizing the close links between our nations, our histories and our futures. As with every Qatar Museums exhibition, this one is a bridge between cultures, and we are honoured to provide an international platform for these hugely deserving artistic movements.”
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The exhibit has leaned on unprecedented loans from public institutions such as the Alhamra Art Museum in Lahore and Pakistan National Council of the Arts in Islamabad as well as from private collections across Dubai, London and New York.