Qatar to invest in art and culture with launch of two new museums

Qatar has unveiled plans to open two new museums in the capital Doha, greatly expanding the cultural offering in the Gulf state, with a third due for completion before the 2022 World Cup. 

The Lusail museum, billed to exhibit some of the finest examples of Middle Eastern and Islamic art, will house "the world's most extensive collection of Orientalist paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures, rare texts, and applied arts".

The 559,700 square feet venue will be designed by Herzog & de Meuron and will include an exhibition space, an auditorium, a library, and educational hubs, over four stories.

Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who oversees Qatar Museums, announced the launch of the cultural project on Sunday.

The Qatar Auto Museum will showcase "the evolution of the automobile from its invention through today and how it has influenced culture in Qatar", according to Qatar Museums.

Also announced were the date for the renovation of an old flour mill on the capital's waterfront to turn it into the Art Mill. 

First announced in 2015, the Art Mill will serve as a creative campus, which can accommodate artist residency programmes, with also over 861,000 square feet of exhibition and performance space.

The renovation of the old flour mill has been led by the Chilean architecture group Elemental and will open to the public in October, ahead of the 2022 World Cup. 

"The Art Mill will not just be a perfectly finished object but an opportunity for young designers, artisans, craftspeople in Qatar to come together to deliver the knowledge they have accumulated and contribute to the building, so that it not only houses a great collection but expands to more popular audiences," Alejandro Aravena, director of Elemental, said during the Doha Forum. 

No timeline details for the other two museums have been revealed. 

Qatar is gearing up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is due to start in November and has already established itself as one of the region's hubs for art and culture.