The Qatar National Pavilion today released details of its participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, at the behest of Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, President of Qatar Museums. The untitled project 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people), involving Rirkrit Tiravanija, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid and Fadi Kattan, originates from artist Rirkrit Tiravanija’s decades-long practice of inviting collaborators to actively intervene within his architectural and spatial scenarios.
For this edition of the Biennale, Tiravanija has designed a structure inspired by a tent, conceived as a space for encounter and cultural dialogue. Within it will be a film by Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria, live performances curated by Lebanese artist Tarek Atoui, a large sculpture created by Kuwaiti-Portuguese artist Alia Farid, and a culinary program dedicated to Middle Eastern cuisine, conceived by Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan.
The exhibition project, produced by Qatar Museums and presented by Rubaiya Qatar (the country’s quadrennial contemporary art exhibition), is co-curated by Tom Eccles (Executive Director of the Center for Curatorial Studies and the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College) and Ruba Katrib (Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at MoMA PS1). The exhibition will be installed at the Giardini della Biennale, in the area designated for Qatar’s future permanent pavilion, designed by Lina Ghotmeh - Architecture.
Inspired by different traditions of the Arab world and modeled on typical Qatari social venues, the temporary structure will welcome the public by offering a plurality of cultural offerings.
“In the global context of the Venice Biennale, this exhibition demonstrates Qatar’s firm belief in the power of culture to unite people and create a space for reflection, connection and affirmation of our common humanity,” said Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. “Qatar is proud to offer a platform to the creative talent of our country and the Arab world. Together, these artists and their works highlight the importance of resilience in a complex age, strengthening communities, inspiring generations and consolidating our shared heritage.”
“We are proud that A Gathering of Remarkable People will take shape beginning with the presentation of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s work in Doha, as part of Rubaiya Qatar,” affirmed co-curators Tom Eccles and Ruba Katrib. “The engaging and participatory nature of this wide-ranging new work, along with its aspiration to nourish the spirit as much as the body, will be further enhanced by the extraordinary artistic collaborators who will bring the exhibition to life in Venice. Involving artists, musicians, poets and chefs, the exhibition demonstrates how culture represents the indelible bond that unites us all. Bringing people together at this moment in history is more important than ever. It is, in fact, essential.”
“I am honored to collaborate with Qatar Museums, the Rubaiya Qatar team and all the artists who will contribute to this experience in Venice. Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid and Fadi Kattan represent different aspects of Arab culture, which will be brought together in the Qatar Pavilion to show how it is possible to come together,” commented Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Planned works and activities include: an experimental documentary film by Sophia Al-Maria, in which she takes a visionary journey investigating the transformative power of sound and music; Jerrican (2022-2026), a monumental sculpture by Alia Farid belonging to her series of oversized vessels used to store and transport water in the Gulf. The versions created by the artist, while imposing, appear light and hollow, made of lacquered fiberglass using techniques similar to those used for the decorative coverings of public fountains, characteristic of the area’s urban landscape.
Also planned are improvised collaborations conceived by Tarek Atoui together with musicians and poets, in dialogue with field recordings, archival and other sound sources from the Arab world. Rounding out the program is a culinary project curated by Fadi Kattan, featuring chefs from the MENA region: their culinary offerings are often built around a single ingredient and reflect the cultural contaminations generated by migration and trade.
During the pre-opening days (May 6-8) and opening weekend (May 9-10), a gathering of remarkable people will also feature musical performances curated by Tarek Atoui, inspired by the forms of takht (classical Arabic orchestra) and wasla (musical suite). These performances, characterized by improvisation and long duration, evoke the historical modes of concerts in the Arab world. In parallel, under the leadership of Fadi Kattan, chefs from Qatar and the Gulf area will offer reinterpretations of the traditional dish harees/jareesh.
Among the featured artists are musicians Gobi Drab (flute, vocals, Austria), Tomás Gouband (percussion, France/Algeria), Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet, electronics, Lebanon), Aya Metwaly (voice, electronics, Egypt), Sarah Ourahman (cello, voice, electronics, UK/Algeria), Naghib Shehbenzadeh (percussion, Iran), Vivian Wang (voice, electronics, Singapore), along with culinary offerings by chefs and authors Noor Murad (Bahrain) and Majed Ali Almatrooshi (UAE), chef Noof Al Marri of the Desert Rose Café at the Qatar National Museum (Qatar) and mixologists Anna Patrowicz (France) and Vesta Kontrimaviciene (Lithuania) of akub London.
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| Qatar Pavilion at Biennale 2026: Rirkrit Tiravanija engages artists, musicians and chefs from the Arab world |
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