The Majlis: Cultures in Dialogue

The Majlis: Cultures in Dialogue is comprised of objects that tell stories. Stories about a long history of exchanges and dialogue in the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Stories that one might hear in a majlis, the space present in every Arab home where people gather to talk and socialise. Stories that recall the mutual—and often forgotten—influences between the Islamic civilisation, Europe, India, and the Far East. Stories at the core of an ambitious project initiated by the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum: a multifaceted forum for respectful yet incisive dialogue that connects people, beliefs, and cultures.

This catalogue gathers some forty artworks from the collection of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, chosen to showcase these existing interrelationships between artists and craftsmen around the world and how they influenced style and culture across country borders.