H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani during an event in Brazil as part of her Latin America tour recently.
Doha: Chairperson of Qatar Museums and Founder of Qatar’s Years of Culture Initiative H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has concluded a three-country tour of Argentina, Chile and Brazil focused on strengthening cultural partnerships and the exchange of knowledge, expertise and artistic perspectives between Qatar and South America.
Building on the Qatar-Argentina and Chile 2025 Year of Culture and the Qatar-Brazil 2014 Year of Culture, the tour brought Her Excellency into productive dialogue with leaders in business, government and cultural affairs. The engagements demonstrated how relationships established through Years of Culture continue to develop beyond the programmes themselves through institutional collaboration and the presentation of art to new audiences.
This engagement reflects a cultural diplomacy approach that supports a knowledge-based economy through learning and the exchange of expertise. It combines openness to the world with respect for each country’s distinctive identity and heritage, creating space to explore shared humanity through different cultural experiences.
Reflecting on the tour during a recent conversation on cultural diplomacy at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha,
H E Sheikha Al Mayassa said, “During my recent visit to Latin America, I was particularly encouraged by the enthusiasm to deepen these collaborations. Culture brings people together, creates greater understanding and builds relationships that endure. This is at the heart of our approach to cultural diplomacy: meaningful exchange that continues well beyond a single programme.”
In Argentina, Her Excellency participated in a 25th Anniversary Symposium at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba). She joined Glenn Lowry, Director Emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, in a conversation about cultural diplomacy and the role of institutions in developing projects of international scope.
She highlighted how Qatar sees culture as a form of diplomacy and a vital component of the Qatar National Vision 2030 created by the late Father Amir, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The visit continued an institutional relationship reflected in the exhibition LATINOAMERICANO. Modern and Contemporary Art from Malba and Eduardo Costantini Collections, presented by Qatar Museums in spring 2025. Jointly curated by Qatar Museums and Malba, it offered the region its first large-scale showcase of modern and contemporary Latin American art, featuring approximately 170 works by more than 100 artists.
In Chile, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa visited Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago to view the first Latin American presentation of the Qatar Museums exhibition Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices. First shown by Qatar at the 2024 Venice Biennale and co-organised by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the future Art Mill Museum with the Doha Film Institute, the exhibition brings together works by more than 40 artists and filmmakers from the Arab world, Africa and Southeast Asia exploring displacement, resilience and community. In São Paulo, Brazil, Her Excellency took part in a panel on ‘Art, Regeneration and the Global South’ at Cidade Matarazzo. In Rio de Janeiro she met Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere to discuss further cultural relations and attended ArtRio ahead of Rio Art Week.
