Qatar Creates will present the documentary exhibition Building a Creative Nation, which will be on view from May 14 to November 26

A documentary exhibition, Building a Creative Nation, will be shown by Qatar Creates in conjunction with the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. This will be the first time that Qatar's newest cultural institutions have been seen outside of their home country. The exhibition, which is being held at ACP - Palazzo Franchetti, will be on display from May 14 until November 26.

Elemental, Herzog and de Meuron, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Philippe Starck, and UNStudio are just a few of the internationally renowned architectural firms working with Qatar Museums to establish five new cultural facilities in Qatar. Building a Creative Nation, created by 2 x 4, focuses on these same firms. 

To portray each project as a thoughtful architectural response to a component of Qatar Museums' agenda of cultural nation-building, the exhibition combines renderings, pictures, sketches, studies, models, video, as well as immersive multimedia.

Each future institution, whether it is built from scratch or through adaptive reuse, demonstrates Qatar's dedication to architecture as a tactical tool for achieving the nation's forward-looking cultural goals, as stated in the Qatar National Vision 2030, particularly its aim to develop a creatively diverse and innovative society through investment.

When the chance to support the Kengo Kuma exhibition at the Venice Architectural Biennale 2023 arose, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, stated: "We felt that it would be a great moment to share the cultural projects that Qatar is embarking on after its successful hosting for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Qatar and Italy have a long history of mutually beneficial cultural, economic, and political ties, as do Japan and Qatar. It is therefore a wonderful time in contemporary history to expose the scope of Qatar's cultural programming, which is among the best architectural displays and the most significant exhibitions of epoch-making designs worldwide.

The Art Mill Museum, designed by Elemental under the direction of Alejandro Aravena; the Lusail Museum by Herzog and de Meuron; the Qatar Auto Museum by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), under the direction of Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal; the Qatar Preparatory School by Philippe Starck; and Dadu, the Children's Museum of Qatar, designed by UNStudio.

The world-class museums and cultural venues that have emerged in Qatar over the past 15 years are built upon by these recent developments. Qatar has continued to invest in these institutions. They include the National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel (2019), the Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I. M. Pei (2008), the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, designed by François Bodin (2010), the Fire Station, designed by Ibrahim Al Jaidah (2015), the Qatar National Library, designed by OMA (2017), the M7, designed by John McAslan + Partners (2021), and the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, designed by Joan Sibina (2022).