Welcome to the Reimagined MIA

The museum is now open following a facilities enhancement project and the reimagination and reinstallation of its permanent collection galleries.

As part of the project, more than 1,000 objects – many newly conserved or acquired – are now displayed in the museum’s permanent galleries for the first time, alongside the masterpieces for which MIA has long been recognised.

The reimagining of the collection galleries introduces a comprehensive visitor trail, creates expanded interpretive materials to help contextualise the masterworks and provides new mobile and child-friendly resources to make the museum more accessible for families and younger guests.

The galleries are organised according to broad historical and cultural themes, periods and geography, and explore the great traditions of Islamic craftsmanship. MIA has also introduced a new section on Islam in Southeast Asia, focusing on the connection between different cultures through exhibits on the trade of commodities and the exchange of ideas across the Islamic world and beyond.

About the Galleries

The newly created 'Family Trail' is a key component of the gallery refurbishment to engage young visitors on topics that relate to their own lives and experiences. Utilising new technologies, interactive displays and multi-sensory applications further engage visitors of all ages throughout the museum.

Picture of two women explaining something

Adding to the visitor experience, and complementing the many incredible artefacts and artworks on display, guests will encounter images and films of different architecture and sites from the Middle East, listen to the Holy Qurʾan and Arabic and Persian poetry, as well as music from al-Andalus; they can learn about the different fragrances of herbs and spices that travelled long distances across the Islamic world; and will get a sense of the different materials and decorations used in the arts over time.

“ This enhancement will benefit generations of visitors, providing an even more meaningful experience and allowing guests to explore the rich vast history of the Islamic World as told through our unparalleled collection. ”
Dr Julia Gonnella, Director, MIA

The enhanced and expanded experience allows the museum to welcome a larger audience, with a reframed entrance and upgraded cafés and retail locations. All improvements to the building are in keeping with I.M. Pei’s vision. Throughout the reinstallation process, MIA once again collaborated with Wilmotte & Associés, the French interior design and architecture firm first retained by I.M. Pei.

To celebrate MIA’s reopening, Qatar Museums and Thames & Hudson have co-published a beautifully illustrated 500+ page catalogue dedicated to the history and collection of the Museum of Islamic Art.

An exterior view of the Museum of Islamic Art during the day, showing the building's reflection in the water

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Reimagining MIA: Inside and Out

The Operations Department in MIA, in cooperation with Ashghal, is using the latest technologies to achieve Qatar Museums' goal for a sustainable environment.

A photograph of a group of children standing in the lobby of MIA looking skywards

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Education at MIA: Checking In and Looking Ahead

The Museum of Islamic Art’s Learning and Outreach team offers programmes that welcome students, families and local and international audiences.

Relaunch Characters

As part of introducing a more welcoming family friendly experience, MIA showcased 3 main objects from the permanent collection namely the Doha Hind, the Blue Monkey and the Falcon Finial. The Hind talked about the past and triggered memorable moments. The Monkey lived in the present, collecting and sharing updates going around all corners of the museum so our followers never really lost touch with us. The Falcon flew ahead into the future, giving out general information and a bird’s eye view of what is to come. These characters took over our social media activities focusing on the past, present and future respectively. They were spotted on a public Mowasalat bus running through the Doha Corniche, inviting people to MIA for the reopening and are now also seen on our museum tickets. You can purchase them in various models from our gift shop. Follow their journey on our Instagram page.

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The Doha Hind

The Doha Hind is one of the masterpieces of the MIA collection. The body of the animal was cast in one piece using the lost wax method, with the base made separately. Given the lack of an opening directly into the belly of the Hind, or a pipe leading into the mouth, it appears that water would have passed directly from a pipe into the pedestal and then through the legs and into the body, before leaving through the mouth. Luxury goods in Caliphal Spain – metalwork, but also ivories, silks, and marble – were commissioned largely by royalty, suggesting that the Hind would have been ordered by a member of the Spanish Umayyad elite. This piece belongs to a larger body of metal animals attributed to Spain and southern Italy, including the Pisa Griffin (in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Pisa) and the Mari-Cha Lion (now in the Louvre Abu Dhabi).

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Blue Monkey

Ceramic figurines and figural ewers are not uncommon in the mediaeval period in Iran, particularly from the fritwares produced in 12th–13th century Kashan, Iran. A wide variety of subjects are known, ranging from soldiers on horseback to breastfeeding women to animals. MIA has a lustreware example in the form of a sphinx (MIA.PO.592). A relatively rare subgroup – known from less than a handful of extant examples, one of which is seen here – portray a monkey. With its even turquoise-glaze over a fritware body, the figurine is consistent with the fine ceramic wares produced in central Iran - particularly the city of Kashan – in the 12th and 13th centuries. Seated on his haunches with his hands on his knees and wearing a pointed cap and a slightly mournful expression, the monkey has clear anthropomorphic qualities which endear him to his audience. This probably would have been the case for the actual monkeys which entertained the people of medieval Iran, who might have performed tricks in the streets or been central characters in puppetry performances. Monkeys were thought to bring good fortune. A number of seated monkey figurines – although much smaller in size and unglazed – are known from the 12th–13th century in Iran and now feature in museums worldwide. A turquoise-glazed, monkey-shaped ewer, used for the pouring of liquids, is housed in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.