As the west continues to suffer the fallout from one of the deepest recessions for decades and the subsequent public funding squeeze, countries in the east are undergoing a period of rapid economic and cultural development.
In the Middle East, and particularly the Gulf region, wealth from oil is financing this growth, with the arts, culture and intangible heritage all major beneficiaries. Over the past few years, several new museums have sprung up across the region – and a dozen or so more are expected over the next decade.
Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi is one of the most high-profile developments. Benefiting from the financial strengths that come with sitting on 10% of the world’s oil reserves, Abu Dhabi aims to become a leading centre of culture and a tourism destination.
As well as acting as a business hub, by 2012, four museums will open in the island’s cultural district, including satellites of the Louvre and Guggenheim, and the Zayed National Museum.
With some of the biggest names in architecture on board – Jean Nouvel (Louvre), Frank Gehry (Gug-genheim), Zaha Hadid (a performing arts centre) and Norman Foster (Zayed National Museum) – these projects have attracted much attention.
But elsewhere in the Middle East, other countries are taking a different approach to museums by looking to develop models that take account of local residents’ needs, as well as those of potential tourists.
Hans Ulrich Obrist, co-director of exhibitions and programmes, and director of international projects at the Serpentine Gallery, London, warns that globalisation means museums are in danger of becoming homogenous.
However, he says unique models are starting to appear throughout the Middle East: “There has been a profound shift. There are models that don’t just copy existing models or replicate western museums, but acknowledge local differences, and therefore create negotiations between the local and the global.”
Qatar is an example of this. Following the 2008 opening of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, last month marked the launch of the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, also in the emirate’s capital. Home to a permanent collection of modern Arab art, the Mathaf aims to act as a centre for scholarship and dialogue about contemporary art and culture.
The museum is the result of more than two decades of collecting by the vice-chairman of the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA), sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed bin Ali Al-Thani.
It includes more than 6,000 artworks by 20th-century artists from Qatar and throughout the Middle East, north Africa and the Arab diaspora, as well as objects that have inspired many modern Arab artists, such as pre-Islamic works from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.
“In Qatar, we are creating a new paradigm for museums in the 21st century, redefining their context, philosophies and operations,” says Roger Mandle, the QMA’s executive director.
Collaborating with a western museum brand was never an option, adds Wassan Al-Khudhairi, acting director and chief curator of the Mathaf. “We have this collection and an ambitious royal family with a strong commitment to the culture of this country,” she says. “We have all we need to make our own museum.”
While interpretation and displays will be informed by best practice and Al-Khudhairi’s experience working at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, they will not be restricted to the example set by western models.
“The context is new, so we will take different ideas and try them,” she says. “This is a work in progress.”
Martyn Best, director of consultant Cultural Innovations, has worked in the Middle East for more than 20 years, and in Qatar since 1998.
“Qatar is fortunate in that it has the resources to proceed with the things that it has the aspirations to do,” he says. “It is the furthest ahead in thinking about how to develop a contemporary Middle Eastern model.”
Best believes that in Qatar there has been a shift away from museum developments being seen as part of the tourist agenda: “It’s a realisation of local vision. Government money is being invested in these projects, but the local people want to know what the relevance is to them. It’s about creating something different, something that reflects society and that isn’t just a copycat of western models.”
Al-Khudhairi’s hope is that, if the Mathaf’s “Middle Eastern” model proves successful, it could be replicated by other museums in the region. However, one of the biggest barriers continues to be a dearth of home-grown museum staff.
The news that University College London (UCL) is to create a campus in Qatar to teach museum studies, archaeology and conservation will go some way toward rectifying this problem. The initiative, which is being funded by the QMA and the Qatar Foundation for Ed
ucation, Science and Community Development, is expected to train 150 students a year. QMA staff will also receive training.
Sally MacDonald, director of UCL museums, collections and public engagement, believes it is inevitable that training local curators, conservators and education staff will encourage a shift away from following traditional models.
“It’s hard for these museums to go their own way and not look at what’s being done in the west, because we have such an industry here,” she says. “However, I think this reliance will change rapidly as skills and experience develop. Plus, there is a sense within the workforce that they want to do things differently.”
For MacDonald, doing things differently includes being braver than their western peers about confronting controversial subjects. She cites the example of a temporary exhibition at the Sharjah Archaeology Museum that is exploring the illicit trade in antiquities.
“The exhibition was honest about the process and the fact that it happens, which is not something I’ve seen in western museums. It was refreshing, especially as it was in the foyer of the building.”
Another example is the Abu Jihad Museum for the Prisoners Movement Affairs at Al-Quds University, near Jerusalem, which explores the lives of Palestinian prisoners and their families.
“It’s a tremendously brave display,” says MacDonald. “This university museum is doing what I think museums in this country should be doing – raising political and controversial issues that are relevant to local people.”
But there is a role for UK institutions in the Middle East, and part of that is on the domestic front. Maryam Eisler, executive editor of Art & Patronage: The Middle East, which was published in November by Thames & Hudson, says museums in the UK have been key in promoting positive change in the perception of art and culture in the Middle East.
“Tate, along with many other institutions such as the British Museum, the Serpentine, the Whitechapel and the Victoria and Albert Museum, has been a pioneer in platforming Middle Eastern art and culture in the manner it deserves, especially in the UK.
“It is my hope that [these] solid initiatives will spearhead other such institutional activities across the globe and in the US in particular, where it seems that, unfortunately, today politics tends to overshadow cultural dialogue,” she says.
There are also opportunities in the Middle East for British museum professionals. As a company working in the region, Best says Cultural Innovations’ aim is to leave a legacy, not just of the projects to which it contributes, but also in terms of the processes it uses.
At the same time, he says UK firms and individuals can learn from the approaches being taken in the Middle East. “We have a process-driven approach in the UK. Over there, they address things from first principles, rather than pre-conceived ideas,” he says.
For museum professionals seeking opportunities in Middle Eastern museums, having an open mind to what these institutions are doing, why they are doing it and how they are doing it is essential. “There are opportunities for people to have an impact, but also to learn from their experiences,” says Best.
The Financial Times recently reported Wafaa el-Saddik, general director of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, as saying the Middle East, led by the United Arab Emirates, could become the new cultural capital of the world, thanks to strong economies and financial resources.
However, Hossein Amirsadeghi, the editor of several books about Arabic culture, disagrees: “The idea of the Middle East becoming a centre of culture is nonsense. You can have all the money in the world, but you also need to nurture talent and grow the roots of creativity, and you cannot have cultural vibrancy as long as there are barriers to free expression.”
Amirsadeghi’s concern is that the region’s religion and traditional culture restrict creativity, not only of artists but also institutions. Censorship in Abu Dhabi’s new museums has already made the headlines. According to David Lister, the arts editor at the Independent newspaper, a question mark remains over how much figurative art, especially of female nudes, will be allowed.
But the Mathaf’s Al-Khudhairi says: “All museums censor by selecting the works they want to include in exhibitions. We have no reason to remove any works, but don’t know what will happen. If there is an issue, we will have to negotiate and use our best judgement.”
Another concern is that, with so many new developments over the past few years, and even more in the pipeline, these projects are not sustainable. The schemes are unlikely to suffer from funding concerns, although they will probably never be financially self-sufficient.
However, Best says the challenge is for different countries to coordinate their efforts so that developments complement, rather than compete, with each other. “They should be looking to position themselves as regional, rather than national, hubs,” he adds.
It is still early days for developments such as the Mathaf, but the signs are mostly positive. Support from British institutions, and a rising interest in contemporary art from the Middle East – the British Museum recently created a committee to focus on adding contemporary Middle Eastern art to its collection to be displayed alongside traditional Islamic art – should help. The key to success would seem to be museums finding their own voice and having relevance to local communities.
As more start to do this, others should follow. “There are challenges – attitudes range from country to country, and museums need to look at developing their own interpretation of objects, to be relevant to the local population,” says Best. “But things are starting to change, which is why we are now seeing this emphasis on cultural wealth and wellbeing.”
British Museum
- Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East was shown at the Dubai International Finance Centre in 2008.
Victoria and Albert Museum
- The Jameel Prize, an exhibition of contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic craft traditions, visited the National Museum, Saudi Arabia, and the Beit ed-Dine Palace, Lebanon, last year, as well as venues in Damascus, Casablanca and Istanbul. It was the first exhibition that the Victoria and Albert Museum had sent on tour to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Morocco.
- Mughal Art was shown at the LA Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, in Israel, last year.
- World Ceramics: Masterpieces visited Khan As’ad Pasha, Syria, in 2008-09.
- Dreams of Orient & Occident: Lafayette Studio Photography, The Royal Society of Fine Arts was shown at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts in 2008.
Tate
- British Orientalist Painting visited the Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates, in 2009.
Magnum Photos
- In Our Time: The World as seen by Magnum Photographers, 1936-1987, visited Qatar’s QMA Gallery in autumn 2010. It was a collaboration between Magnum Photos agency and the Qatar Museums Authority.
The Art Fund
- The Art Fund collection of Middle Eastern Photography provides money for the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum to acquire 20th-century and contemporary photography and digital images by artists from the Middle East.