When I first arrived in Doha last July, I was verging on the sceptical when I heard about the Qatar/UK 2013 Year of Culture. It didn’t sound particularly British, despite our popular cultural icons and their global reach. I’m as proud of James Bond, JK Rowling and One Direction as anyone, but when it comes to highbrow, don’t we leave that to the French and Italians? Isn’t the UK these days, post Cool Britannia, more about ‘cultcha’ rather than Culture? However, reflecting now on the achievements of the 2013 Qatar/UK Year of Culture, I am delighted to admit my scepticism was proven unfounded.
Over 175,000 people participated in Qatar UK 2013 and over 80 events took place during the year in either the UK or Qatar. We had the thought provoking Damien Hirst exhibition here in Doha and the historic Pearls exhibition at the V&A museum in London. We held the first ever Arts and Disability festival in the Middle East and Katara hosted sell-out concerts by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The Fashion Exchange showcased up and coming Qatari designers and globally renowned UK-based designers including L’Wren Scott and Stephen Jones.
So why was Qatar UK 2013 such a success? A big part of it was the degree of shared understanding between the UK and Qatar on what is needed to stimulate a vibrant cultural scene. We both understand that modern culture is so much more than dusty display cabinets in museum, or impenetrable operas sung in another language. Qatar, like the UK, holds certain principles in high regard: innovation, creativity, risk taking, new ideas, and this came across strongly in the links that were made during the year of culture. Just look at some of Qatar’s bold architectural designs in West Bay financial district, or the plans for a totally new city at Lusail.
What is important now, is that these burgeoning links, forged during the year of culture are strengthened and developed as part of the legacy. So, I’m excited that we’ll be holding a British Festival this spring to build on the strong, shared cultural platform that Qatar UK 2013 has created.