Qatar shakes up the art world
Acquisitions such as a $250m Cezanne painting aiming to turn tiny country into a global cultural centre.
Published On 11 Feb 2012
Qatar’s ruling elite are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in making the country a world-class art destination.
Recent investments include the $250m purchase of Paul Cezanne’s The Card Players and the bringing of Takashi Murakami’s Ego exhibit to Doha, the capital.
A leading art paper has called the tiny peninsula the world’s biggest buyer of contemporary art, spending about $1bn since 2005.
At the heart of the small nation’s big art aspirations is Sheikha Al Mayassa, daughter of the country’s emir.
Al Jazeera’s Will Jordan reports from Doha.
Source: Al Jazeera