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Architect JeAn FrAncois Bodinreconstructs A minimAlist,

Almost Anti-iconic museumspAce From the shell oF An old

school Building, mAking ithome For the geniuses oF

modern Ar AB Artists.by sindhu nAir

PHOTOGRAPHS by Bosco meneZes

mAthAF

the muse hAs

lAnded

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ItH A scoRe

museum designs already under his belt, French architect Jean Francois Bodins Qatar rendezvous

has resulted in Matha. The recently opened Arab Museum o Modern Art, housed in a reurbishedschool building o Education City, is a stark and curious site.

Earlier an architect was awarded a museum work when he was at the ag-end o his career, when

it was assumed that he was learned enough to take on such prestigious projects. But now museum

design has become more normal no more prestigious than a hospital project, says Bodin.

Best described as an unexciting white square building , the Matha structure pales in comparison

to the iconic Museum o Islamic Art on the Corniche, designed by IM Pei. But that is beore you see

the play o space inside.

Matha, on close scrutiny, takes the role o a platorm, allowing the artiacts and the installations

to establish the look and eel. A minimalistic white arena where the perormers take center stage.

Matha is also distinct in the way it has developed rom its challenges.Bodin says, The rst challenge was the school building which was in concrete. Then we had to

design keeping in mind that this is not a permanent structure or Matha. The museum will be

relocated to another purpose-built structure ater ve years. Then the issue o low ceiling .

Museums are best with high ceilings because o the size o the artiacts it has to house. Another

challenge was the corridors and small box like classrooms. A museum does not have many corridors

it has large meeting spaces and huge exhibit areas.

So, where have the corridors disappeared? And the dinky b ox-like classrooms?

Thats where Bodins expertise emerges.

How he straddles the two extremes, o coming up with the best design solution while not letting

the building eclipse the artiacts.

Now museums are the place where people who appreciate art and understand what it stands or

congregate. I am doing something or these people. The Museum is a place or people to have an

experience and discover art, and the building is also a subtle part o this process.

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This design perception could also be why

Matha can be considered as one o the best

restoration projects in the region.

tHe BUILDInG Matha is a 5,500-square-

meter acility that includes galleries on twofoors, a ca, a museum shop, a research library

and an education wing.

One enters Matha through a terrace that

eatures a shaded outdoor seating area or the

ca. From the terrace, visitors will pass through

a screen-wrapped scaolding-style acade, upon

which imagery and video can be projected

at night.

Inside Matha, the fexible space has aninormal and contemporary aesthetic. Like the

collection it houses, this temporary structure

expresses a balance between the old and

the new.

The lobby or the meeting space is denitely

appealing with the bold sketches o the Emir

and his consort, HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalia

Al-Thani and HH Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser

Al-Thani. In a stark white setting, another

installation in bright colors tries to attractattention but ails miserably as theoil on canvas

sketches dominate the room with its size and

stateliness.

Inside the Museum, the bright and fexible

spaces have an inormal and contemporary

aesthetic. Floors are nished in an industrial-

style grey resin and another modern design

interpretation is the museum shop which is

located in a repurposed shipping container.

Mathas exhibition galleries, which occupy a

total o 2,180 square meters eature high ceilings

and moveable walls that can accommodate a

wide range o work rom the permanent

collection or special exhibitions.

The exhibit spaces are almost maze-like, with

art placed strategically; making each installation

appealing not only or its artistic quality but also

because o the way it is displayed.

For instance, the large metallic installationwhich is more like a hole on a sheet, right at the

opening o another display area, makes or a

dramatic placement.

What endears visitors to Matha other than

the art itsel, are the doodles on the walls which

directs one to the manara, the education wing,

or maktaba, the research library, mahal, the

museum shop or even maqha, the coee bar or

just to the gallery spaces.

tHe woRK Matha has its origins in the

wide-ranging activities o its ounder and Qatar

Museum Authority Vice Chairman, His

Art and Architecture

clok fro lft, art xrt

xln t tor of t ollton,

t ntng n t kground

mk mrng, al br, 2003;

T for ou ntng of

hh t er nd hh sk moz

yn p mng; sk hn

ddr t d t t onng

ron of mtf; pntng

mod l-ml; intllton

outd t muu ad hnn

al-sfn (T s) 2008-2010


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Let there be lightclok fro rgt,

pg r no longr

; 'slr nd wr'

hn srf, 1994;

pntng mooud sd,

1938; Tr ntng ttld

hog to mlnglo

al Tl, 1994; mxd

d skr hn al

sd, 1999; T prd,

'sol troug ant'

T hl, 1960

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Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali

Al-Thani. Sheikh Hassan began his collection in

the 1980s, starting with the acquisition o works

by Qatari artists and then broadening its ocus

to include works by 20th century artiststhroughout the Middle East, North Arica and

the Arab diaspora, as well as objects that

inspired many Arab modern artists, such as

pre-Islamic works rom ancient Mesopotamia

and Egypt.

From the beginning, Sheikh Hassans

penchant or collecting was part o a larger

project o documentation and advocacy. In 1994

,he installed much o the collection in a villa that

served as a private museum and as a resource

or living artists and or teaching others about

Arab modern art. An artist residency program

was also established at the museum, primarily

hosting Iraqi artists who needed a place o

reuge.

To honor Sheikh Hassans history o providing

studios or artists and his emphasis on

education, QMA and Qatar Foundation have

developed the museums rst home in theEducation City.

The Matha collection owns more than 6,000

art-pieces and presents the main trends and

sites o production o modern Arab art rom

1840 till now. The rst exhibition that is taking

place in the reconstructed museum building is

Sajjil: Century o modern art. This exhibition

shows more than 100 artists and major

experiments in aesthetics.

At the heart o Matha, though, is the original

collection o thousands o paintings, sculptures

and works on paper brought together by its

ounder, HE Sheikh Hassan.

The collection includes work by artists rom

every Arab country, representing major trends

and sites o production in the region. The

earliest modern works are rom the 1840s, and

the most recent contemporary works bring us up

to the present day.It was HE Sheikh Hassan's personal mission

to build a collection that would highlight the

signicance o Arab art and would b ecome a

public resource. He also collected books and

periodicals and began an artist residency

program, which created a wealth o archival

materials documenting Arab artists and

artwork.

Matha is now working to ensure that this

collection will be available or artists and

scholars to visit and study in person. Matha

aims to have the collection documented in an

open online database or the public. n

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