A giant inflatable Koons, a desert mirror illusion and a giant football goal: seven of the best new sculptures in Qatar
From a giant inflatable sea creature by Jeff Koons to Olafur Eliasson’s installation of mirrored shelters in the desert, the run-up to the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar has the small Gulf state busy unveiling a raft of ambitious public art commissions.In a statement, the chair of Qatar Museums (QM), Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, describes public art as “one of our most prominent demonstrations of cultural exchange, where we present works from artists of all nationalities and backgrounds”. Over the past decade, QM has installed some 70 monumental pieces by international, regional and local artists in public spaces from the airport to the Doha souq. The programme is ramping up to more than 100 works in time for the World Cup (20 November-18 December), when an estimated 1.5 million football fans are expected to descend on the country (population: 2.9 million).