Tourism & Hospitality | Tuesday 24 March, 2015 12:06 pm |

W Doha Hotel & Residences played host to the International New York Times’ “Art for Tomorrow” Conference organized with Qatar Museums and the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Qatar from 14th to 16th March 2015.

“It has been truly inspiring to be a part of this prestigious event. Like the organizers, we believe that art and architecture play a crucial role in shaping communities and enriching lives throughout the world. This is precisely the same reason why as a hotel, W Doha tries its best to support, in whatever capacity we have be it through hosting events like this, in the cultivation and meeting of creative minds that encourage a breadth of cultural exchange among our local and international guests,” says Safak Guvenc, Area Manager of Qatar and General Manager for W Doha Hotel & Residences.

Primarily sponsored by Sotheby’s, Art for Tomorrow saw the attendance of delegates such as artists, gallerists, architects, urban planners, political decision-makers, and cultural and financial experts. Key topics were the changing dynamics of art and architecture and their potential to change people and places, including how investment in art and culture contributes to urban spaces and can reinvigorate communities, the function of corporate investment in art, and how investing in cultural projects contributes to brand identity.

The speakers included:
• Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums (delivering opening address)
• Jeff Koons, Artist
• Jack Lang, President of L’Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
• Jean Nouvel, Architect
• Rem Koolhaas, Architect and Professor, OMA and Harvard University
• Martin Roth, Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
• Bruno Vinciguerra, chief operating officer, Sotheby’s
• Dr. Lars Nittve, Director, M+ in West Kowloon
• Friedhelm Hutte, Global Head of Art, Deutsche Bank
• Akbar Al Baker, Group CEO Qatar Airways
• Victoria Siddall, Frieze Art Fair Director
• Gail Lord, President, Lord Cultural Resources
• Adrian Ellis, AEA Consulting
• Ali Güreli, Founder and Chairman, Contemporary Istanbul
• Dr Abdellah Karroum, Director of Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art
• Mohammed Hafiz, Director, Athr Gallery, Jeddah
• Jean-Paul Engelen, Director, Public Art Programs, Qatar Museums
• Florian Wupperfeld, CEO, Leading Cultural Destinations
• Klaus Peter Kofler, CEO, Kofler & Kompanie International caterers
• Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah, luxury retailer (Villa Moda) and art collector
• Andrew Shoben, Director, Greyworld
• Domenico Quaranta, digital art expert
• Ana Andueza Amman, Partner, Deloitte
• Savita Apte, Chair, Abraaj Art Prize and member of Art Dubai
• Yorgos Archimandritis, curator, author and broadcaster
• Miguel Angel Corzo, curator and critic
• Yousef Ahmad, Qatari Artist
• Ali Hassan, Qatari artist

The event also transformed W Doha Hotel & Residences into an art gallery with the incredible talent of Qatar’s local artists. One of the Qatari artists, Yousef Ahmad’s handmade Qatari Palm Leaf Paper rolled and fitted in black wooden frame with coated black net metal was displayed at the Sotheby’s Lounge. His work was also made into a short film which was presented in the Immersive Room by Qatar Tourism Authority. Ahmad, a member of the first generation of modern artists in Qatar, has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and the Arab World, and is the Art Consultant to the New Arab Art Museum in Doha.

Another artist at the gallery was Omar Khalifa, who presented his “Double Exposure Art” with a pop-up art gallery. Khalifa’s exhibition used several double exposure works, in which profiles of people were superimposed over various landscapes. Visitors got the chance to become works of art themselves with their images superimposed onto classic Doha backgrounds.

Finally, the gallery saw an installation called “The Qatari Card Series” by Qatar Museum which featured artists Hessa Al Ali and Aziza Iqbal. The artwork was 14 playing cards characters produced on plexiglass, a solid transparent plastic. Playing cards, an activity done after the “Maghrib prayer” in every Majlis in Qatar, represent the strong bond the Qataris share. The rest of the cards’ design contained symbolic expressions of the Qatari culture with every pattern, costume and object carefully selected from everyday life in Qatar.

For further information please visit: http://www.whoteldoha.com/. Book at whoteldoha.com or call +974 44535343.

About W Doha Hotel
W Hotels is a contemporary, design-led luxury lifestyle brand and the industry innovator with 46 hotels and retreats, including 16 W-branded residences, in the most vibrant cities and exotic destinations around the world. Inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential, W Hotels provides the ultimate in insider access, offering a unique mix of cutting-edge design and passions around fashion, music and entertainment. W Hotels offers a holistic lifestyle experience that is integrated into the brand’s sensibility through contemporary restaurant concepts, glamorous entertainment experiences, stylish retail concepts, signature spas and inspiring residences. With 15 years of proven success, W Hotels is on track to reach more than 60 hotels by 2018. W Hotels have been announced for Amsterdam, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Amman, Jakarta, Panama, Muscat, Suzhou, Changsha, Chengdu, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Shenyang, Marrakech and Brisbane, while upcoming W Retreats include Goa, Phuket, Hainan Island and Mexico’s Riviera Maya. For more information, visit www.whotels.com, www.whotels.tumblr.com or www.facebook.com/whotels. To live the W Hotels lifestyle 24/7/365, visit www.wresidences.com. Follow @WHotels on Twitter and Instagram.


The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is a global media organization dedicated to enhancing society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information. The company includes The New York Times, International New York Times, NYTimes.com, INYT.com and related properties. It is known globally for excellence in its journalism, and innovation in its print and digital storytelling and its business model. Follow news about the company at @NYTimesComm.

About Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, and two retail businesses, Sotheby’s Diamonds and Sotheby’s Wine. Sotheby’s has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
For more news from Sotheby’s, visit www.sothebys.com/en/inside/services/press/news/news.html, follow: www.twitter.com/sothebys & www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong & WeChat (ID: sothebyshongkong), join: www.facebook.com/sothebys and watch: www.youtube.com/sothebys

About Qatar Museums
Qatar Museums connects the museums, cultural institutions and heritage sites in Qatar and creates the conditions for them to thrive and flourish. It centralizes resources and provides a comprehensive organization for the development of museums and cultural projects, with a long term ambition of creating a strong and sustainable cultural infrastructure for Qatar. Under the patronage of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and led by its Chairperson, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, QM is consolidating Qatar’s efforts to become a vibrant center for the arts, culture and education, in the Middle East and beyond.
Since its foundation in 2005, QM has overseen the development of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and the Al Zubarah World Heritage Site Visitor Centre. QM also manages the QM Gallery at Katara and the ALRIWAQ DOHA Exhibition Space. Future projects include the opening of the Fire Station: Artists in Residence and the launch of the highly anticipated National Museum of Qatar.
QM is committed to instigating Qatar’s future generation of arts, heritage and museum professionals. At its core is a commitment to nurturing artistic talent, creating opportunities and developing the skills to service Qatar’s emerging art economy. By means of a multi-faceted programme and public art initiatives, QM seeks to push the boundaries of the traditional museum model and create cultural experiences that spill out onto the streets and seek to involve the widest possible audiences. Through a strong emphasis on originating art and culture from within and fostering a spirit of national participation, QM is helping Qatar find its own distinctive voice in today’s global cultural debates.