Great Expectations

"My experience in Qatar speaks to a profound irony about the region's position in global financial, diplomatic, and institutional orders. Geopolitical tensions concerning the Middle East have only been exacerbated since the events of October 7, 2023, which laid bare deep divisions among global audiences concerning the region's history, borders, and political future. At the same time, within the Gulf, several Arab nations have been embarking on some of the most ambitious feats of museum-, institution-, and state-building seen anywhere in decades."

"The London-based research collective had prepared new work documenting Israel's genocidal military campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The exhibition, however, never opened to the public. Coincidentally, the same week I was there, the Qatari government was hosting ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and Hamas. While visiting Mathaf one morning, I tried to peek inside the installation but was rebuffed by a museum attendant before I could even photograph the wall text."

"Later, a representative from Qatar Museums, the royal museums authority that had organized my trip, told me the exhibition would be "postponed." More than a year later, there is no record of Forensic Architecture's show at Mathaf having taken place. One can only speculate: Was there something so politically inflammatory in the show that it would have been dangerous or impertinent to display it in a state museum during official ceasefire negotiations between the very parties represented in the show?"

A Forensic Architecture exhibition documenting Israel's military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza was scheduled to open at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha but did not open to the public. During the week of planned opening, Qatar hosted ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, and museum staff prevented visitors from viewing or photographing the installation. Qatar Museums told visitors the exhibition was "postponed." More than a year later, there is no public record of the show having taken place. The cancellation raises questions about political sensitivities, state-curated cultural institutions, and tensions between institutional expansion in the Gulf and limits on critical or controversial content.

Read at Artforum