The exhibition comprises excerpts from more than 40 films and videos by Arab and African artists and filmmakers.
Qatar Museums (QM) has announced plans for a major exhibition to coincide with the 60th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, spotlighting the visions of numerous filmmakers and video artists from the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Titled ‘Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices,’ the exhibition will run at ACP–Palazzo Franchetti from April 19 to November 24, offering a journey through moving images that explore contemporary experiences of community life, memory, transnational crossings, and exile.
Produced by QM and co-organised by Doha Film Institute (DFI), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and the future Art Mill Museum, in collaboration with ACP Art Capital Partners, the exhibition is curated by Matthieu Orléan with collaboration from Majid al-Remaihi and Virgile Alexandre. Architects and spatial designers Cookies (Federico Martelli and Clément Périssé) lead the exhibition design, while the advisory committee includes DFI CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Zeina Arida, and Catherine Grenier. Project management is overseen by Minas Stratigos, with Khalifa al-Thani serving as the exhibition manager.
The exhibition will feature a comprehensive journey through 10 galleries, each dedicated to themes such as deserts (cradles of civilisation and places of rebirth), ruins (relics of culture), women’s voices (demarcations between allowed and forbidden places), borders, and exile, as depicted in selected films supported or co-financed by DFI, alongside video works from the collections of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the future Art Mill Museum. An accompanying screening programme presents the entire works throughout the course of the biennial.
The showcased films and video works span various genres, including fiction, documentary, animation, and memoir, blending invented narrative with fact and modernity with tradition. The exhibition highlights the achievements of DFI, a major player in funding and producing not only Arab cinema but also African work since its inauguration in 2010.
Excerpts from works by over 40 filmmakers and video artists from countries including Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Senegal, Yemen, and more will be featured, alongside video works by artists such as Wael Shawky, Lida Abdul, Hassan Khan, and Sofia al-Maria.
In a statement, QM and DFI chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said: “Opening at the same time as the Venice Art Biennale and continuing throughout the presentation of the Venice Film Festival, Your ghosts are mine will open the eyes of multitudes of international viewers to the ideas, the feelings, and above all the artistic visions of today’s filmmakers from the Arab world and neighbouring regions. By presenting this exhibition, Qatar Museums advances its key mission of encouraging understanding across borders through cultural exchange, while the Doha Film Institute fulfils its mandate to nurture and promote the rising talents of our region.”
