Meet the mural artists adding vibrancy to Qatar’s cityscape
"What is beautiful about this type of art, the art of street art painting, is that people enjoy this art throughout the year, they're walking, driving, or going to work."
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00:02 It's something that feeds your soul.
00:05 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:07 I love doing murals because it's a public artwork
00:22 that anybody and everybody can see.
00:25 A mural is a great way to make art accessible for everyone.
00:29 It's a great way to make a city beautiful.
00:33 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:35 Qatar has become as an open museum for the public.
00:44 We fill every corner with our artwork.
00:47 And the Jeddahi Art Initiative gave the opportunity
00:50 to all the artists to become part of the artistic scene
00:53 in Qatar.
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01:01 Qatari art started in 2020.
01:06 It's a public art program.
01:07 It was part of a way to bring artists to the streets,
01:11 to the public spaces.
01:12 Its objective and essence is to communicate with the public.
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01:18 Many of the artists never done a mural before.
01:20 Some worked in exhibition spaces, paintings, canvases,
01:25 sculptures in smaller spaces.
01:26 But this is a scale up, a different medium.
01:29 Qatari art took that there.
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01:34 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:36,
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02:57 Mubarak Malik is one of the first artists
03:01 to do graffiti mural work in Qatar.
03:03 He's been helpful.
03:05 He's a great mentor.
03:06 He provides some tips and support.
03:08 I'm really honored to continue the legacy, I guess,
03:12 of Qatari mural work.
03:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:17 Currently, we're here at Fire Station.
03:20 It's a place for artists and creative
03:22 to experiment and showcase their work.
03:25 I'm here because I'm commissioned to do a mural at the Fire
03:29 Station wall, and it's a really exciting project.
03:31 When I got the news that I got accepted to do the mural,
03:37 I was a little bit intimidated because the scale of the wall,
03:41 it's in a very central location in Doha.
03:43 It's a mixed feeling of excitement and intimidation.
03:46 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:51 The way I got selected is through Qatar Museums,
03:54 through their program, Jidari Art.
03:56 I've gotten email through them.
03:58 They have the email listing.
04:00 They send it to artists to send their proposal.
04:03 I've worked on my proposal, and thankfully, I got accepted.
04:07 I'm really grateful.
04:09 My style is vibrant and colorful.
04:13 I like to represent elements of my culture
04:17 that I grew up with in a modern way,
04:19 in a colorful, vibrant way that people can relate to.
04:23 I have several murals around Doha.
04:29 I'm very happy when I listen to the people's feedback
04:33 because they are wondering how come a woman gets up
04:37 on the scaffold and do this large mural.
04:40 It was scary for me at the beginning,
04:45 but then I used to break my fears and get on the scaffold.
04:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:55 Recently, I had a mural in Houston University.
04:59 This mural was talking about the connection between cultures
05:03 and how education is playing an important role in building
05:07 the society and connecting people together.
05:11 By doing this around different countries,
05:14 I can let them know what is the Qatari culture
05:17 and how we can have an impact on the other cultures.
05:20 I think people are just happy to have some vibrancy around them
05:29 and some art and beauty.
05:31 The reception's always been positive.
05:33 Art is something that definitely feeds your soul.
05:35 It's important to have it in public spaces.
05:39 We had 20 activations in one year,
05:41 and now we have a total of 50 murals around the city,
05:44 and it's going to only grow.
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