The Power of Culture

A series of conversations with Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and people who have been part of Qatar’s architecture & culture development journey. In this episode, Her Excellency is joined by Rana Beiruti, the curator of Arab Design Now, the headline exhibition at Design Doha. An architect, independent curator and cultural programmer based in Amman, Jordan, Rana Beiruti co-founded the biennial Amman Design Week, in 2015, and acted as its director until 2021. From 2014–2019 she was the Director of The Lab, an experimental art space at Darat al Funun – The Khalid Shoman Foundation, where she curated a program that offered residencies and learning opportunities to emerging artists. Rana championed the management and organization of Darat al Funun’s archive of 30 years of history in the arts, making the information accessible to researchers on-site and to the public online.  Beiruti discusses curating the groundbreaking survey of Arab design talent for the Design Doha Biennale, focusing on storytelling, inclusivity, and representing the current design landscape in the Arab world. She highlights the efforts to reconnect with tradition and history in Arab design regionally, and within the platform offered by Design Doha. The Power of Culture Podcast is a Qatar Creates production. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.