The Sheikh Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research is organizing a lecture, “The dawn of modern art in the Arabian Gulf: beginnings and trends,” by the researcher, artistic expert, and founder of the Barjeel Arts Foundation, Sheikh Sultan bin Saud Al Qasimi, who will present a unique perspective that documents the cultural transformations that the Arab world witnessed in shaping the identity of plastic art, and the accompanying openness to the Renaissance era, and the formulation of its first characteristics centered on the crystallization of artistic productions that influenced With its components, combining local traditions and the diversity of contemporary technologies, this falls within the cultural season of the Sheikh Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research, “As Much as the People of Determination,” where the lecture will be held in Arabic, on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at six-thirty in the evening, at the center’s headquarters. Sheikh Sultan bin Saud Al Qasimi is a pioneering figure in the fields of Arab thought and culture. During his career, he was able to integrate the strength of his knowledge into research and academic work, and his path was a pivotal station in delving into Arab art. Then his passion directed him to expand towards acquiring works of art and highlighting them at the global level. Not only that, but his contributions extended to the establishment of the “Barjeel Art Foundation” in the year 2010, which includes more than 600 artistic paintings, to contribute to the development of the thought of the art scene in Arab region.
His academic studies and research, and his practical practices in his institution, were unique in consolidating the role of art and building a national identity as a means of communication across different cultures. It is also worth noting that Sheikh Sultan bin Saud Al Qasimi is an Emirati columnist and researcher in social, political and cultural affairs in the Arab Gulf countries. He also taught the course “The Politics of Modern Art in the Middle East” at Yale University, Georgetown University, Columbia University, Bard College in Berlin, the American University in Sharjah, and others. In 2023, Al Qasimi completed a fellowship at the School of Science and Advanced Studies in Berlin, and was a research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London between 2023 and 2025. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Cambridge.
