Manama: Qatar's Arab Museum of Modern Art, Mathaf, is to feature three exhibitions when it opens to the public for the first time, on December 30.

The historic works of Arab modernism and a multitude of new art works, commissioned by Mathaf, will be on view at two venues in Doha.

The new museum will open its 5,500 square metre building with ‘Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art’, the first in a series of exhibitions that will survey Mathaf’s collection of more than 6,000 pieces, representing major trends in modern Arab art, spanning from the 1840’s to the present.

‘Sajjil’, the Arabic word for ‘the act of recording’, will feature paintings and sculptures by more than 100 artists, representing pivotal moments in the development of Arab modernism throughout the 20th century, Gulf Times reported on Wednesday.

‘Sajjil’ is organised by guest curator and consultant, Nada Shabout, associate professor of art history and director of the Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Institute, University of North Texas, Wassan Al Khudhairi, Mathaf’s chief curator and acting director, and Deena Chalabi, Mathaf’s head of strategy.

“The creation of Mathaf has been the result of many years of interaction with living Arab artists,” Shaikh Hassan Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Mathaf founder and Qatar Museums Authority vice-chairperson, said.

At a new QMA exhibition space, located on the grounds of the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf will also present the exhibition ‘Interventions and Told / Untold / Retold’, which will be on view from December 30 until May 28, 2011.

‘Interventions: a dialogue between the modern and the contemporary’, curated by Nada Shabout, will profile Dia Azzawi, Fareed Belkahia, Ahmad Nawar, Ebrahim Al Salahi and Hassan Sharif, five major artists whose careers have spanned the modern art period.
A new work, commissioned by Mathaf, from each of these artists, will be shown alongside existing works by the artists from the Mathaf collection.

‘Told / Untold / Retold: 23 stories of journeys through time and place’ will present new works commissioned by Mathaf from 23 contemporary artists with links to the Arab world. Considered the most ambitious museum exhibition of contemporary art, ever presented in the Arab world, ‘Told / Untold / Retold’ will include paintings, sculpture, photography, video, multimedia installations and interactive digital art.

The participating artists are Adel Abidin, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Buthayna Ali, Ahmad Alsoudani, Ghada Amar, Kader Attia, Lara Baladi, Wafa Bilal, Abdelkader Benchamma, Mounir Fatmi, Lamia Joreige, Amal Kenawy, Jeffar Khaldi, Hassan Khan, Yousuf Nabeel, Walid Raad, Khalil Rabah, Younès Rahmoun, Steve Sabella, Marwan Sahmarani, Zineb Sedira, Khaled Takreti, and Akram Zaatari.

‘Told / Untold / Retold’ is curated by Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath, the co-founders of ‘Art Reoriented, a curatorial platform’ focusing on contemporary art from the Middle East.