DOHA QATAR Fine Arts Society (QFAS), headquartered at Katara Building No 13, was founded on February 19th, 1980, starting out with 18 members. Through the years, the society has organised a large number of exhibitions, events and debates, and has launched a number of publications. The society holds three-day workshops where local participants of any background can gather and paint. It also has a small library open to the public with books and pamphlets in Arabic, English, French and Chinese.
The society works to discover talent and promote as well as support Qatar’s artists on both local and international levels. Today, more than 150 artists, both Qatari nationals and expatriates, are part of QFAS. The society has also established connections with several Arab and international organisations that share the same vision and goals.
Qatar Tribune spoke with well-known Qatari artist Jamila Mansour al Ansari, who is also a member of the QFAS board of directors, about the Society and its most recent activities. Jamila is fairly well known in Qatar’s arts community with a busy calendar, which includes participating in a variety of events from educational sessions for young artists to group exhibitions.
Speaking about the latest undertaking of QFAS, a workshop entitled Art and Heritage recently held at Katara, she said, “The workshop was organised by QFAS at its headquarters in Katara. It was actually both a workshop as well as a contest, which was open to artists who are members of the society, be they citizens or expatriates. The workshop, which was kindly supported by Katara and the Blue Salon, was held over a period of two weeks.
It started on May 26 and has just concluded.
During this period, more than 40 artists participated. So, the turnout was actually better than what we had expected. There were, however, a couple of criteria which the artists were asked to conform to in order to keep the contest on a fair basis and make it easier to compare and judge the works. So, we had all the artists use oil paints on a canvas and they were all asked to paint works in a realist vein, which in some way pertained to Qatari heritage. We also asked each artist to paint two pictures, one of which they would donate to the society in lieu of payment for the workshop. I think this is actually a great way to encourage artists to actually make art, while also reducing the cost associated with the event, to a minimum.” One of the objectives of the workshop was to raise awareness about local art and artists, and to bring these in contact with art buffs. Jamila said, “The workshop started out at QFAS headquarters but the artists were encouraged to switch to the Katara Art Studios to put the finishing touches on their works. This was done in order to encourage visitors to pop by, and in this way to take an interest in local artists, and of course, in the glimpses of Qatari heritage portrayed in their works.
We received a lot of positive feedback from this and several guests popped by to look at the art and chat with the artists because they were interested in the paintings being created in front of their eyes.” The workshop also featured a competition, regarding which Jamila said, “The committee of judges has already met to discuss the competing works. Later, there will be a closing ceremony which will bw attended by Minister of Social Affairs HE Nasser bin Abdulla al Hemaidi. During the ceremony, first, second and third place winners of the competition will be announced and will receive prizes offered by our sponsors. All workshop participants will also receive a certificate of appreciation.
In addition, we will be organising a seminar which will take its subject matter from themes that emerged from the workshop, and the resulting works.” Jamila spoke of her own experience during the workshop. She said, “I was actually one of the participants in the workshop and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In addition to being a unique opportunity for networking and meeting some new local artists, it was a good challenge to execute two works within a short time. I think everyone had a great time. Best of all, it was a great chance to mediate on Qatar’s rich heritage with the works taking as their subject everything from pearl diving, to falconry and varied tableaux of life in the desert and on the sea.” Commenting on QFAS membership, Jamila said, “The Society is open to any artist working in Qatar, be they Qatari or residing in the country. Our mission is to nurture local art and we do this through a variety of activities from educational programmes to workshops and competitions.
We seek to promote local artists and bring them into contact with art lovers in various ways. The recently held workshop was an example.” Regarding other projects the society has recently undertaken, Jamila said, “QFAS is fairly active in the local arts scene, and we try to be involved in charitable initiatives as well. In the past four months alone, the society organised an exhibition at Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club in Al Rayyan. We participated in an exhibition aimed at raising awareness of local social issues called Fursati or My Opportunity organised by the Ministry of Social Affairs at the Doha Exhibition Center. We also participated in a charity auction organised by the Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah al Thani Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF), on the sidelines of which we also had an exhibition of works by the society members which were auctioned off for charity.”
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