To say that the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) has grown in scope and stature over the last 50 years would be a colossal understatement. When the Qatar National Museum, as it was then called, opened in 1975, it was housed in the defunct palace of a former emir and contained archaeological relics that had previously been on display in Doha’s National Library. Today, though, that original palace—now impeccably restored—is surrounded by a spectacular new museum building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, whose complex design involving a riot of interlocking disks took more than a decade to complete. Inside the instant landmark, which evokes a desert rose, are 11 galleries containing approximately 8,000 objects, from Bedouin tools and weapons to the famous Baroda Carpet, luxuriously embellished with 1.5 million natural marine pearls. Other features of the museum, which is located at the southern end of the Doha Corniche, the city’s waterfront promenade, include a 220-seat auditorium, a research centre, two stylish cafés, a restaurant and a park with a constructed lagoon.

In many ways, NMoQ is symbolic of Qatar as a whole. Over the past half-century, the oil-and-gas-rich nation has transformed itself from a relatively modest Gulf state into a global powerhouse. The dizzying pace of its development has brought pitfalls as well as progress. In addition to facing criticism over its treatment of the foreign labourers who are building its sparkling new infrastructure, Qatar’s alliance with countries such as the United States have placed it in the crosshairs of neighbours such as Iran, which earlier this year launched missiles at a U.S. military base on Qatari soil in retaliation for American strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. But for all of its geopolitical challenges, Qatar has also mastered the art of soft diplomacy, shrewdly choosing culture as its primary calling card. In recent years, many of its greatest investments have been in this sector, reflecting its ambitions to become a global destination for lovers of art and design.

“Art and design here benefit from high-level political support,” says Paula Bouffard, a Canadian textile designer who moved to Qatar with her family 10 years ago and has since seen her practice catalyzed by living and working in the country. “That kind of commitment makes a real difference. Countries that understand the power of culture position themselves as global leaders, and Qatar has certainly done that.”

Among the biggest providers of that high-level support is Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, sister of Qatar’s current emir. In addition to serving as the chairperson of Qatar Museums, the omnipresent government entity that oversees such institutions as the NMoQ and the Museum of Islamic Art, Sheikha Al Mayassa established the Doha Film Institute (which hosts two major film festivals every year) and co-chairs Fashion Trust Arabia (one of the few fashion incubators in all of the Arab world).

In late 2023, the 42-year-old dynamo launched her own podcast, The Power of Culture, which focuses on the art and design scene in Qatar. Sheikha Al Mayassa has also used her vast wealth to secure major works of art for Qatar’s museums, including pieces by Paul Gauguin, Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon and Jeffrey Koons.

“Qatar Museums was born from the same vision that founded the Qatar National Museum 50 years ago,” she said in June 2025, on the occasion of NMoQ’s golden anniversary. That vision, she added, “has passionately championed creativity, innovation and cultural exchange, transforming the museum landscape into a vibrant ecosystem that celebrates our heritage and propels us into the future.”

Of course, Qatar isn’t the only player in the Gulf region with major cultural aspirations. Just to the southeast, in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi operates a stunning outpost (also designed by Jean Nouvel) of France’s Louvre Museum, which has allowed the use of its name there until 2047. A local branch of the Guggenheim is also in the works. But whereas Abu Dhabi has opted to import cultural brands, Qatar’s approach is more organic in nature, combining an international outlook with a focus on the hyperlocal. In the opinion of Hans Ulrich Obrist, the influential artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, what Qatar is creating is a paradigm that doesn’t “copy existing models or replicate Western museums, but acknowledges local differences.”

If Abu Dhabi aspires to be the Paris of the Persian Gulf, Qatar is its Berlin—idiosyncratic and daring. Initiatives such as the Tasweer Photo Festival (which showcases the work of cutting-edge imagemakers from Qatar and abroad every year) and JEDARIART (a program that brings together artists to animate Doha’s public spaces through murals and street art) cement that impression.

“Qatar has a unique rhythm,” says Reema Abu Hassan, an architect-turned-ceramicist who founded her acclaimed Doha design studio, Clay Encounters, seven years ago. “It’s a place where history, heritage and innovation are constantly interacting. Living and working here have made me more intentional about materiality and process.”

Prior to launching her atelier, Qatari-born Hassan worked for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Dubai and Rotterdam, then decided to return home to follow in the footsteps of her entrepreneurial family and to take advantage of Qatar’s unique cultural ecosystem.

“Institutions like Qatar Museums and [the Doha outpost of] Virginia Commonwealth University, where I teach design in the MFA program, are setting the tone for innovative, world-class exhibitions and programs,” she says. “Grassroots initiatives and independent studios, meanwhile, are cultivating more intimate, hands-on experiences. What I love is how the scene seamlessly blends both traditional craft and innovative forms of making. There’s a depth to the creative work being done here, and I think visitors would find it refreshing and thought-provoking.”

Textile artist Bouffard, who showcases her work in the same Doha boutique space as Hassan, agrees. “World-class exhibitions and a robust cultural calendar create a dynamic environment for artists and designers,” she says. “For anyone passionate about art, architecture and design, Doha is absolutely worth a visit.”

The country has been going to great efforts to ensure that remains the case. When Qatar hosted the world’s biggest sporting event—soccer’s World Cup— in 2022, for instance, it also pointedly expanded its public art program, an initiative that places monumental works by Qatari and foreign artists throughout the Doha cityscape.

“As the rest of the world turns its eyes on Doha, we thought one of the best ways to introduce ourselves and create a dialogue would be through art in the public sphere,” Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Ishaq, Qatar Museums’ director of public art, told CNN at the time.

This coming winter, moreover, Art Basel’s newest show, Art Basel Qatar, will debut at M7, a creative hub in Doha, and also at the Doha Design District in Msheireb Downtown Doha, a sustainably designed new neighbourhood where all of the buildings are either Gold or Platinum LEED-certified.

According to organizers, the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar will be “a concisely curated showcase celebrating Qatar’s vibrant cultural landscape and the dynamic arts ecosystem of the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region.” It’s scheduled to take place from February 5–7, 2026.

“The arrival of Art Basel next year certainly adds another feather to Qatar’s cultural cap, but it’s far from the only highlight,” Artnet’s news editor, Margaret Carrigan, wrote recently, citing the fact that Qatar is also building the first new permanent pavilion in 30 years in the Venice Biennale’s renowned Giardini, where it’ll be unveiled to the public at next year’s incarnation.

“Needless to say, the art world’s keenest eyes—and deepest pockets—will all be turned toward the Gulf nation in 2026.” “Bring it on” is the message on the ground in Doha. “We have five or six commercial galleries and we have a lot of private museums,” Sheikha Al Mayassa told the New York Times when Art Basel Qatar was announced in May. “It’s all part of our long-term vision for the diversification of our economy.”

For creatives like Hassan, the efforts to expand Qatar’s global artistic currency echo her own desire to push the boundaries of her practice.

“My studio began as an effort to pair pottery with design, but it has since grown into a space that nurtures a creative community, design thinking and craftsmanship,” she says, noting that her homeland has created fertile ground for both artists and visitors alike.

“Institutions like Qatar Museums provide vital support to artists and designers, creating opportunities for research, experimentation and increased visibility. There’s also a strong sense of community, not just among artists, but also among educators, researchers and craftspeople.”

This summer, Hassan was in the Burgundy region of France, participating in a nine-week craft and design residency supported by—you guessed it—Qatar Museums.

Called “Shaping and Crafting the Future,” the residency was a collaboration between Liwan Design Studios and Labs in Qatar and Campus MaNa, a Burgundy hub for creators. The fruits of Hassan’s immersion there—a project that aligns with her interest in how female artisans in the Gulf contribute to cultural preservation through craft and design—will be exhibited at the second edition of the Design Doha Biennale, yet another new highlight of the Qatar arts and culture calendar, in April, May and June 2026.

“I feel proud to be part of a network that’s collaboratively shaping a creative culture in Qatar,” Hassan says of her homeland and of Doha in particular. “I am thrilled to be based here!”