Last week, Qatar Museums and the city of Venice announced that the Gulf country will build a permanent national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, marking its new place in the international exhibition. Qatar is the third nation to secure a permanent space in the coveted Giardini in 50 years, following the Republic of Korea in 1995 and Australia in 1988.
Though a pavilion architect has yet to be announced, the plan has been in the works since last July when Qatar Museums and the Municipality of Venice signed a formal agreement outlining a proposal for the permanent exhibition space, as well as their artistic and economic collaboration. Established in 2005, Qatar Museums is a government entity overseeing multiple cultural institutions and galleries, including the Museum of Islamic Art. The organization is chaired by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, an established collector and sister of ruling Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has faced backlash from human rights organizations over labor conditions in the country.
Joining that of 32 other nations, the Qatar pavilion will be built beside the Stirling Book Pavilion, which was completed in 1991 for the fifth Venice Architecture Biennale. Qatar will become the first Persian Gulf nation with a Giardini pavilion — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have theirs in the Arsenale.
According to the announcement, the Qatar pavilion will not be completed in time for the forthcoming Architecture Biennale opening in May. Instead, the site will be used to host Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari’s installation Community Centre (2025) as part of a larger exhibition across the Palazzo Franchetti exploring customs of hospitality in architecture throughout the Persian Gulf nations, North Africa, and South and West Asia. Titled Beyti Beytak. My home is your home. La mia casa è la tua casa., the exhibition commissioned by Al Thani is timed to run during the Architecture Biennale.
In a press statement, Al Thani welcomed the forthcoming pavilion as “advancing our role as a global leader in cultural diplomacy and providing an unparalleled platform for giving voice to the creative talent of our nation and the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region.”
