CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference Proceedings Museums in Progress: Public Interest, Private Resources? CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference Proceedings Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art Doha 9 — 11 November 2014 1 CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference Proceedings Sunday 9 November 2014 — Gabi Ngcobo, curator and member of faculty at The Wits School of Arts, University of What Is Public Interest Today? Witswatersrand, Johannesburg — Abdellah Karroum, Director, Mathaf: Arab Welcoming Speeches: Museum of Modern Art, Doha — Abdellah Karroum, Director, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art Perspective 1: Gabi Ngcobo, curator and member of — Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad faculty at The Wits School of Arts, University of bin Khalifa Al-Thani, chairperson, Qatar Witswatersrand, Johannesburg Museums Board of Trustees — Catherine Robert-Hauglustaine, General Director Perspective 2: Suha Shoman, Artist, Founder and of ICOM Chair of the Khalid Shoman Foundation and Darat al — Bartomeu Marí, President of CIMAM Funun, Amman Perspective 1: Graham W. J. Beal, Director, Detroit Perspective 3: Zeina Arida, Director, Sursock Institute of Arts, Detroit Museum, Beirut. Perspective 2: Maria Lind, curator and writer, Perspective 4: Abdellah Karroum, Director, Mathaf: Director of Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha. Perspective 3: Olav Velthuis, Associate Professor at Q&A with perspective speakers the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Amsterdam Perspective 4: Rana Sadik, collector and Director of Tuesday 11 November 2014 MinRASY Projects, Kuwait Private to Public, Public to Q&A with perspective speakers Private: What Are the New Professional Practices? Monday 10 November 2014 Keynote 1: Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas, Art collector and founding member of Teixeira de Building Institutions in the Freitas Rodrigues e Associados, Lisbon African and the Middle East Perspective 1: Kate Fowle, Chief Curator at Garage Contexts Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow and Director-at-large at Independent Curators Welcoming Remarks: International (ICI), New York — Gerd Nonneman, SFS Qatar (Georgetown University), School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Perspective 2: Bernard Blistène, Director, Musée Dean and Professor of International Politics and national d’art moderne, Paris Gulf Studies — Dr Abdulla Al-Thani, Managing Director and Q&A with perspective speakers Member of the Board, Qatar Leadership Centre. — Bartomeu Marí, President of CIMAM Panel Discussion: Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas, Art Collector and Founding Member of Teixeira de Panel Discussion: Freitas Rodrigues e Associados, Lisbon. Kate Fowle, — Ute Meta Bauer, Director of the Centre for Chief Curator at Garage Museum of Contemporary Contemporary Art (CCA), Singapore. Moderator Art, Moscow. Bernard Blistène, Director, Musée — Salwa Mikdadi, Associate Professor of the National d’Art Moderne, Paris.Eugene Tan, Director, Practice of Art History at the New York National Gallery Singapore.Fionn Meade, Curator, University Abu Dhabi Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Moderated by Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 2 (in the document click on any page number to return to the table of contents) CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference Proceedings Sunday 9 November 2014 3 CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference Proceedings Welcoming speeches Abdellah Karroum: Welcome to Doha, everyone. ancient fort of Al Zubarah in the north of the country. You’ve come from different continents and countries. We are also in the process of conserving and I just wanted to say something about this space, the transforming our old fire station into an artists-in- performance space at Mathaf, which we use for our residency centre. The building is well under way and performance programme and conferences. It’s a will open its doors to artists in the next few weeks. popular building as well, which has been open now As active members both of ICOM and for four years with a great artistic programme. CIMAM, we are proud to host the annual CIMAM Before we officially start the CIMAM conference I conference 2014. Our languages and cultures may am pleased to welcome Her Excellency Sheikha Al be different but we share a common vision within Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, CIMAM: that modern and contemporary art Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar museums have been built as institutional tools that Museums, to speak to the CIMAM 2014 Annual share knowledge and education with society. At Conference delegates. [Applause] Mathaf we place art from the Arab world at the core of our programmes. We also focus on education as a key mission in our exhibitions. We champion the work of artists from this region, and through our Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint local partnerships with Qatar’s Ministry of Culture Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani: Good morning. and the thriving art galleries that support this Distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and development. We bring art from all around the world gentlemen. Welcome to Mathaf, the Arab Museum of to inspire, influence and equip aspiring artists from Modern Art. I’m glad to see a diverse gathering of the region and to educate our communities in professionals representing cultural institutions from international art. all around the world. In the coming days we will be Mathaf’s collection began with the Qatar listening to, and engaging with, different Foundation acquiring the collection of His Excellency perspectives which will ultimately widen our Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani, an horizons and thinking about contemporary art and accomplished artist himself. His collection formed what it represents. I welcome you to Doha and its the starting point of the National Collection of really bad traffic — it’s particularly bad today, so for Modern and Contemporary Arab Art. This building those of you who are just getting in, we all used to be a school and this performance venue is to understand the pain in getting into the museum. be the site of the Al-Jazeera Children’s Channel. So Qatar Museum, like Qatar itself, is a young we continue to reuse and recycle old buildings to institution with great ambition. Culture and art nurture artists and creative communities. Last night support the realisation of our national vision. They we opened the exhibition of works by Shirin Neshat, nurture the transformation of a hydrocarbon nation who’s with us this morning, and last week we to one based on diversity, by supporting and opened an exhibition of our permanent collection, establishing creative networks. Culture connects called Summary Part I, which if you haven’t yet seen, people of all walks of life. It has no passport or I’m sure you will. religion, and it establishes a tolerant platform for Mathaf works closely with our students. Our dialogue. We are proud that as a relative programmes focus on engaging and building youngster — Mathaf itself is only four years old — we audiences through various forms of collaboration. are graduating into the company of museums and Mathaf is also moving into its next phase of institutions in the global art world, from as far afield expansion, as we prepare to extend our building to as Chicago, Tokyo, San Francisco and the Arab support our ongoing activities. Through our diverse world. We welcome you all to Doha, alongside exhibition programmes we are initiating networks colleagues from the thriving arts and academic both within and across our region and the rest of the communities of Qatar itself. world. I encourage you all to take part in our In Qatar we believe in partnerships, and I’m conference and activities. The cultural offers here sure that many new networks will be made in the are unlimited, between the Museum of Islamic Art in coming days. Key to our vision for arts and creativity Qatar and our thriving art galleries, there is a lot of in Qatar is the need to balance progress with art, architecture and public art to see and heritage. Earlier this year we hosted the 38th appreciate. I take this opportunity to thank everyone UNESCO World Heritage Conference with Qatar’s involved in making this conference happen, from our first UNESCO World Heritage site named at the professional staff to our committed volunteers. 4 CIMAM 2014 Annual Conference Proceedings Thank you very much for being here and I hope that Khalifa Al-Thani, His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin you have a fruitful conference. I look forward to Mohammed bin Ali Al-Thani, and His Highness Sheik meeting you during your stay. Thank you very much. Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani for their [Applause] support and hospitality. Qatar museums are an incredible partner to whom we express our gratitude. We extend our gratitude for allowing us to visit this great city in a privileged atmosphere. We Abdellah Karroum: Thank you, Excellency. are also very very grateful to Abdellah Karroum, Now I am pleased to invite Anne-Catherine Robert- Director of Mathaf, who has been deeply committed Hauglustaine, General Director of ICOM. and involved in the year-long preparation of this event, Anne-Catherine Robert-Hauglustaine: Her and especially to his staff. It’s been a real pleasure Highness Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin to organise this meeting with the Mathaf team. Khalifa Al-Thani, His Excellency Sheikh Hassan bin I would also like to thank the Getty Mohammed bin Ali Al-Thani, dear President of Foundation, the Fundación Cisneros, Colección CIMAM Bartomeu Marí, dear colleagues of ICOM Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, and Qatar Museum for and CIMAM. It’s a great honour for me to be their involvement and generous donations and present here with you in this wonderful Mathaf grants as a result of which over thirty professionals Museum in Doha, Qatar. On behalf of our president, from countries in emerging economies — Latin Professor Dr Hans-Martin Hinz, President of ICOM, America, the Gulf region and the Middle East — have I would like to stress the good relationship that we been able to join this conference.