At the very first exhibition shown at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art in New York there was a piece from Zarina Hashmi’s celebrated ‘Home is a foreign place’ series. The artist’s collection – which has pieces in The Met, MoMa and the Guggenheim – is a suite of 36 woodcut prints on handmade paper that tell her life’s journey that explores diaspora, nostalgia, memory, borders, and home.
“That collection, and its name, is something that I deeply relate to,” explains Mohammed Rashid Al Thani. “Yes, Qatar is where I was born and raised, however, the idea of ‘home’ is a bit of an abstract one for me. A lot of my adult life was spent travelling to different cities and living in different places, so wherever I go, I often get that sense of ‘home’ triggered by something familiar I see or experience. Whether it is a certain smell in a boutique in New York City, or the architecture of the shopping arcade at The Palace Hotel in Tokyo, or someone I meet from my past – it’s in the subtle details that put me at ease, and make me feel at home anywhere in the world.”
It’s clear that Mohammed Al Thani is a deep thinker. A handy asset to have when you are the founding director of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art (IAIA) – a registered non-profit organisation based in New York with the mission to help “demystify contemporary art from the Arab world.”
A graduate from both Georgetown University and the University of London Institute in Paris, Al Thani has been a curator at both the Mathaf (Arab Museum of Modern Art), and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, and has published books on Arab and Islamic art.
It was in 2017 that he set up the IAIA – before moving to the now-permanent space of 22 Christopher Street in 2022 – as a place that could foster further artistic and cultural dialogue between an international audience and the Arab and Islamic worlds. It looks to accomplish this via regular contemporary art exhibitions combined with an on-going series of public educational programming, which includes visits from university students and professors – and recently a school associated with the United Nations.
Although Al Thani is a proud and observant member of the Qatari royal family – he is quick to stress that the IAIA is an independent organisation, hoping that his passion (and the work it showcases) speaks for itself rather than it being a cultural arm of the Qatari government.
As IAIA’s reputation, and the interest in Arab and Islamic art, continues to grow, the thirty-something Al Thani now navigates an increasingly busy schedule. With his time split mostly between New York and Qatar – with plenty of other travel in between (he was recently in both Shanghai and Tokyo) – he opens the doors to his family home in Doha to invite Esquire in to learn more…
ESQUIRE: Thank you for welcoming us into your home. Why is this place so important to you?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: This is my family home where I grew up, so it, of course, has a lot of sentimentality. Because of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art, I live a lot of the year in New York, so when I am here, in Doha at my parent’s house, it is where I host people and friends that come from abroad. I’ve never done a photoshoot here before, so the spaces and rooms that you’re seeing in this shoot very much help embody who I am.
ESQ: Speaking of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art, and why was that something you wanted to create?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: In my upbringing and in the Muslim culture there’s always a responsibility of education and reaching out. When I moved to New York I soon realised that there was – and still is – a major vacuum in representing contemporary culture from the Arab and Islamic world. Many people form their opinions through what they see on the news, or perhaps the very few exhibitions that the big museums might put on that feature contemporary art from the region. The thing is, these are mostly curated by western curators. That is not necessarily a bad thing, however, it is not coming from someone that is embedded within the framework of the culture from the Arab and Islamic world – which can offer a different (and important) point of view.
ESQ: So why have it in New York?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: New York is a centre for art in many ways. It has some of the largest, and most renowned museums, galleries and auction houses in the world; as well as a long history of nurturing important movements and artists including Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Joan Mitchell. Think about how many students and scholars come through New York’s galleries and museums every year. So, it’s very important for artists that come from the Arab and Islamic world to have a platform in New York, to be present there and to remind everybody that we are active participants in global culture.
“In my upbringing and in the Muslim culture there’s always a responsibility of education and reaching out.”
– Mohammed Al Thani
ESQ: Did you move to New York with the intention of setting it up?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: Not exactly. A few months after I had moved there, I remember spending a day with my friend, Barbara, looking at art exhibitions. But one thing really stuck out to me, the fact that out of everything we saw, nothing represented the Arab and Islamic world or artists from the region. She agreed, so right there and then I decided that I was going to do something about it.
ESQ: I can’t imagine that it was an easy process…
MOHAMMED AL THANI: It wasn’t, but the motivation was there and so was that feeling of educational responsibility. We spent a couple of years doing research, discussing with scholars and artists and building the framework of what we wanted it to be – and now, today, it is a place where people who want to know more about contemporary art from the region can go.
ESQ: What is the most rewarding part of it?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: People are curious. People want to understand things, and therefore I take pride in being able to help challenge the existing narrative and change it. It’s rewarding to start filling that vacuum that we identified back before we started, and change the cultural landscape of the city.
ESQ: What have you found are the most common misconception that people have of art from the region?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: People tend to naturally associate it historically, particularly in terms of Arabic and Islamic architecture – which then is often labeled as ‘outdated’ or perhaps ‘too decorative’. That was one of the things I wanted to address early on with the very first exhibition we did. We chose four female artist – a Palestinian, a Saudi, an Indian and an Iranian – to showcase the influence of Islamic architecture and geometry on contemporary practice. So how does the experience of their cultural history impact the extremely modern art they are making. That show really challenged the stereotypes of what people might think are coming in from the region.
ESQ: We’re currently seeing growing global appreciation of Arabic influence in music and fashion, is that also happening in the art world?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: I think it is inevitable. Islamic culture is historically so widespread across most societies, especially if you know the history of it. You could be in Paris and walk through a courtyard, and if you know anything about the history of architecture you will know that the courtyard was/is a staple in Islamic culture. What is fascinating is that the core of Islamic architecture was not aesthetics, it was community – to build a space for people to gather, and the courtyard was engineered to factor in ways of how wind could cool it down in the heat. That idea then became such a staple in southern European architecture, and as far spread as Spain, Portugal and even Central America.
ESQ: Speaking of spreading influence, how important a role can Qatar have in the region’s art industry?
MOHAMMED AL THANI: While I can’t speak on behalf of the country, as a Qatari citizen – and as a product of the Arab and Islamic culture – I do think of how I can better serve the contemporary culture with the platform that I have. I see the role as an incubator, and in that we have a responsibility in helping bring our artists and our curators and our scholars – not necessarily to the west, but everywhere. I believe that it is extremely important to be able to enhance the cross-cultural understanding globally, making us feel that we’re not any different from anyone else.
Photography by Vaughan Treyvellan / Styling by Laura Jane Brown / Production by Narges Rais / Lighting Assistance by Foroz / Grooming by Aldo Cappola