We returned to Doha on Saturday and headed to the beautiful Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). The building is itself a stunning work of art designed by I. M. Pei.
The interior of the building has so many stunning elements. We toured the permanent exhibit and came a second time to see the Afghanistan exhibit, a collaborative effort between the Turquoise Mountain's Institute for Afghan Arts and the MIA. The exhibit paired an ancient work or a piece from the museum's collection with a student work which was inspired by the earlier work of art. I was so impressed that the quality of the student work was so fine, it was difficult to distinguish the museum piece from the student creation. In a video, the artists explain that this project inspired them to raise the quality of their workmanship so that their creations would meet the quality of the museum piece. Here are a few examples.
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| With this one the painting is the student work. |
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| The beautiful gold pendant repeats the shape of the dragon. |
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| The wood carved door (left) is the student work |
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| A view of the Museum of Islamic Art in evening. |
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| The Islamic Cultural Center |
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| The Souq Waqif in evening. |
