Doha: The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) reopening will bring an “immersive cultural experience” to guests and visitors alike, Qatar Museums (QM) has said.
In a tweet, QM said they are still working hard to relaunch the museum and it will open its doors in autumn.
“The museum will look as beautiful as before but it will have a new message, it will be family-friendly, it will be visitor-friendly, it will have a fully new storyline. The new storyline will be totally different, we talk about the history, we talk about the beginnings of Islam, its spread, we talk about the religion. Then we have a journey from east to west or west to east, depending where you come from, so you learn the different parts of the Islamic world and they put the masterpieces into context” said MIA Director Dr. Julia Gonnella.
“We are going to change how the objects are being displayed from being merely beautiful and relating them to our social value, for example, we are going to speak about the Haj and its importance, and so we are going to display the Sitara Al Ka’bah (curtain of Ka’bah) and the permanent galleries and its impact on the social and cultural life and related to art,” said MIA Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Shaika Al Nasser.
On the relaunch, MIA will unveil 70 objects that haven’t been displayed before. And each gallery has a new application; the reopening of the museum is a “full-scale new experience,” Dr. Gonnella emphasised.
Both the museum and its library are currently closed, however, residents and visitors can virtually see MIA through its 3D virtual tour guide which can be accessed on its website mia.org.qa. Moreover, MIA Park remains open to the public for individual sport activities.
The renovation started in the Fall last year, refurbishing its galleries and interior spaces. In May, it revealed that a splendid room from Damascus is coming alive again after four years of conservation and renovation. “180 pieces of a splendid wooden interior from Damascus are going to be assembled these days at MIA to be a gorgeous room again that once was used for the reception of guests.”
MIA features a diverse collection including Islamic art, ceramics, glass, manuscripts, metalwork, textiles, woodwork, and jewellery, among others.
“Our masterpieces come from both the secular and religious aspects of diverse worlds, all of which are connected by their profession of Islam, but many of which are non-religious in nature. The artworks are drawn from the treasure-houses of princes to the personal homes of ordinary people. Each object tells a fascinating story about itself and the world it comes from,” MIA said.
The MIA Library has over 21,000 books, which makes the museum’s collection of Islamic art books one of the largest in the region.