Doha, Qatar: The upcoming Lawh Wa Qalam: M.F. Husain Museum is set to add a new dimension to Qatar’s cultural landscape, which has grown remarkably over the past two decades.
Scheduled to open in November within Education City, the museum celebrates the life and work of Maqbool Fida Husain and marks the region’s first museum dedicated to a single modern artist, said Executive Director of Community Engagement and Programming at Qatar Foundation (QF), Kholoud Al Ali, in an interview with The Peninsula.
“Lawh Wa Qalam reflects a confidence in regional narratives, acknowledging that the modern story of art doesn’t have to be told from elsewhere,” she said. “Housing his legacy in Qatar shows how connections between India, the Arab world, and beyond naturally converge here, positioning the country as a bridge between cultures and ideas.”
Executive Director of Community Engagement and Programming at Qatar Foundation (QF), Kholoud Al Ali
At its core, the museum embodies Qatar Foundation’s belief in multidisciplinary learning. “Education City was never meant to be a campus of isolated institutions,” Al Ali said.
“Lawh Wa Qalam extends that idea by turning art into an active learning space, where students, whether from engineering or design, can use Husain’s work to think about creativity, memory, and innovation.” Through workshops, talks, and interactive programs, the museum will serve as a living classroom where art, education, and discovery intertwine.
The museum’s name, Lawh Wa Qalam, meaning “The Canvas and the Pen” in Arabic, captures Husain’s philosophy that art and knowledge are inseparable. “He painted as though he were writing,” said Al Ali. “For him, gestures, creating and recording were acts of understanding. The name reflects a cultural and spiritual tradition where the canvas and the pen symbolise the tools of knowledge and creativity.”
Architecturally, the museum itself is an extension of Husain’s art. Based on a sketch he drew himself, the building was brought to life by architect Martand Khosla, who translated Husain’s simple vision, a blue-tiled block, a bright yellow path, and the Arabic inscription of Lawh Wa Qalam into a structure that is “open, experimental, and human.” .
Inside, galleries shift from intimate spaces to bright, expansive halls, mirroring Husain’s rhythmic approach to composition. “Even the stairwell doubles as seating,” Al Ali said, “turning architecture into a place of conversation, something Husain always believed art should inspire.”
Unlike traditional museums organised by chronology or geography, Lawh Wa Qalam is designed as an immersive narrative journey through the artist’s mind.
“It’s not a vault for objects,” Al Ali said, adding that it’s a platform for dialogue and exchange.
The museum will also feature an immersive art experience, blending technology, sound, and light to invite visitors into Husain’s rhythm and imagination. Highlights include a 360-degree interactive room and a presentation of Seeroo fi al ardh, his kinetic masterpiece, brought to life through movement and sound. Subtle multimedia touches, archival audio, sketch projections, and ambient brushstrokes create what Al Ali describes as “an unfolding dialogue with the artist’s process.”
“Storytelling is central to both Husain’s work and the design of Lawh Wa Qalam. The building is conceived as part of the narrative, guiding visitors through the different chapters of his life and art. Its spatial sequence mirrors how Husain told stories through rhythm, contrast, and movement, with each gallery revealing a new layer of his imagination,” said Al Ali.
