Cosmoscow is honored to announce the first ever exhibition of Qatari contemporary art in Russia entitled What We Are Made Of curated by Reem Fadda, an independent curator and art historian. The exhibition, supported by the Main Partner of Cosmoscow, Qatar Airways, taking place within the Year of Culture Qatar Russia 2018, will consist of two instalments. The first one will showcase the works of five pioneering and most prolific Qatari artists known for their influence and cultural activism in Qatar: Yousef Ahmad, Faraj Daham, Ali Hassan, Amal Al-Aathem & Mohammed Al Atiq. The second instalment will present a more nuanced understanding of what the meaning of feminism is in Qatar, featuring mainly sculptures and installations of leading contemporary female Qatari artists: Noor Abuissa, Sophia Al Maria, Bouthayna Al Muftah, Hana Al-Saadi, Aisha Al-Suwaidi, Ghada Khater, Maryam Yousef Al-Homaid.

As a part of the public educational programme, there will be two panels during the days of the fair coinciding with the exhibition. Each will host multiple speakers from Qatar and Russia, providing the opportunity to give a voice to the museum directors, and the artists participating in the exhibition.

Panel # 1 - THE DIRECTOR: New Narratives, New Visions

Date: September 7th, 2018 Time: 1 pm

Speakers:

• Zelfira Tregulova, Director, The State Tretyakov gallery, Moscow, Russia
• Anton Belov, Director, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
• Reem Fadda, former Associate Curator, Middle Eastern Art for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project
• Vasili Tsereteli, Executive Director, Moscow Museum of Modern Art
• Nayla Hadchiti, moderator, Collector and Patron of SEAL Lebanon

The panel is aimed to discuss the role of museum directors, their challenges and goals in developing the vision of their organizations with a special focus on contemporary art institutions from Qatar and all around the world. The conversation will provide an opportunity to explore the variety of museums’ concepts, aimed at managing large collections, and different aspects of institutional relations with artists and arts practitioners. How do museums make a difference? What are the programmes developed for the audience locally and how to make a long-lasting impact internationally? How does an art institution handle the global dynamics of evolving art, political and social environments, remaining relevant?

Panel # 2 - THE ARTIST: What We Are Made Of

Date: September 7th, 2018 Time: 5 pm

Speakers:

• Bouthayna Al Muftah, artist, Doha, Qatar
• Ghada Khater, artist, Doha, Qatar
• Taus Makhacheva, artist, Moscow, Russia
• Mohammed Al Atiq, artist, Doha, Qatar
• Reem Fadda, moderator, Ramallah, Palestine

A selection of the artists, participated in the exhibition What We Are Made Of, will discuss their diverse artistic practices, alongside with Russian artist Taus Makhacheva, Cosmoscow 2018 Artist of the Year, who is presenting a newly commissioned work at the fair.