Qatar Museums is hosting the POW! WOW! international mural festival from 25 November to 1 December, and is inviting community members to attend the launch event.
Aiming to breathe life into urban spaces across Doha, Qatar Museums is hosting the POW! WOW! international mural festival from 25 November to 1 December. The festival, being hosted for the first time in the MENA region, will see 12 local, regional, and international artists add striking artworks to walls around the Al Sadd Metro Station.
Members of the community are invited to join Qatar Museums for the official launch of the Doha edition of POW! WOW! on Wednesday, 24 November from 5 – 7 pm at the National Museum of Qatar Auditorium. Representatives from Qatar Museums will introduce the festival followed by talks with participating artists and street art collectives. To register to attend, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/powwow-doha-opening-conference-tickets-210912032567
POW! WOW! was founded in 2009 by artist, illustrator, curator, and art director, Jasper Wong, in Hong Kong, with the first edition of the week-long mural festival being held in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2010. The festival has since been exhibited in 17 cities worldwide with the purpose of city beautification and community building.
Participating artists include Mubarak Al Malik (Qatar), Huda Basahal (Qatar), Alanoud Al-Ghamdi (Qatar), Myneandyours (Iraq), Bufifty (Kuwait), RexChouk (Saudi Arabia), Said Dokins (Mexico), Nardstar* (South Africa), Said Kinos (Netherlands), Max Sansing (USA), Douglas de Castro (Brazil), and Kim Sielbeck (USA).
Two regional street art collectives were each invited to nominate an artist for the festival line up. Street artist Bufifty is part of Jedareyat, a Kuwaiti street art collective established in 2016. Jedareyat provides an outlet for youth to express their creativity on urban walls. Participating artist RexChouk represents Dhad, a street art collective founded in 2013 when the street art scene was first emerging in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
“Qatar’s street art scene has gained momentum in recent years through several ongoing Qatar Museums’ initiatives that aim to take art beyond four walls and make it accessible to everyone. We are excited to be the exclusive regional host of the international POW! WOW! festival and to support a global network of artists whose artworks will add vibrancy to the urban walls at Al Sadd Metro Station – a busy and heavily pedestrianised area in the heart of Doha. The community is invited to visit POW! WOW! for a chance to experience local and international artists adorning Doha’s urban walls with colourful and thought-provoking murals,”
Arch. Abdulrahman Ahmad Al-Ishaq, Director of Public Art at Qatar Museums
POW! WOW! has grown into a global network of artists, hosting exhibitions, lecture series, mural projects, concerts, and live art installations across the globe. The Doha edition of POW! WOW! is sponsored by Qatar Airways, the Supervisory Committee of Beautification of Roads and Public Places (sponsor), Qatar Rail (location partner), JW Marriot (hotel partner), and Jotun (official paint sponsor).
Alongside the festival, participating POW! WOW! artists will also add murals to the pool-side wall at the JW Marriot Hotel and the basketball court at Lusail Crescent Park. In celebration of the continued cultural legacy of Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture, and in partnership with U.S Embassy in Doha, Katara, and Qatar Museums, artist Jason Keam will paint Katara Building 47.
Qatar Museums Culture Pass Plus and Culture Pass Family members are invited to attend an exclusive walking tour of POW! WOW! on Saturday, 27 November from 4 pm to 5 pm at Al Sadd Metro Station. Visit www.qm.org.qa/en/culturepass to become a Culture Pass Plus or Culture Family member and enjoy complimentary access to guided tours, exhibitions, talks, and workshops.
Coinciding with the street art festival, Qatar Museums is also running a digital art competition from 25 November to 1 December, inviting artists in Qatar to submit a digital mural or intervention for one of the walls at Al Sadd Metro Station. Two winners will each receive QAR 1000 in gift vouchers to be redeemed at Qatar Museums’ In-Q Gift Shop. To enter, artists should sign up to become a Culture Pass Member before posting their digital artworks on Instagram tagging @qatar_museums and using the hashtags #PowwowDoha and #Powwowdigital. Entries can also be submitted to @powwowdoha via direct message on Instagram. Deadline for entry submissions is before midnight on 1 December 2021. Winning gift vouchers should be redeemed before 31 December 2021.
Qatar Museums hosts a number of public art initiatives annually to activate urban areas with murals and art installations, including Jedariart, the 5/6 initiative, and the Public Art Annual Student Competition.
POW! WOW! is open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm from 25 November to 1 December. For more information, please visit www.qm.org.qa
