Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al-Thani is the driving force behind the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art, an art gallery in Manhattan. Al-Thani comes from one of Qatar’s most important families, the ruling Al-Thani family.
He describes the art gallery as a passion project. He founded the nonprofit seven years ago and moved it to its current space in the West Village about two years ago.
What you need to know
- Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al-Thani heads the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art, which displays the work of Nabil Kanso, a Lebanese-American artist who focuses on war and human suffering.
- Al-Thani comes from one of Qatar’s most important families, the ruling Al-Thani family. Qatar is playing a key role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas as the conflict continues.
- Al-Thani himself is not involved in the current peace negotiations and speaks to NY1 in an independent capacity. He calls for “an immediate end to this suffering so that everyone on all sides can live a life of prosperity and peace.”
Al-Thani is currently exhibiting the works of Nabil Kanso, a Lebanese-American artist who focuses on wars – such as the Lebanese Civil War and the Vietnam War – and human suffering.
“Of course, you see an apocalyptic vision in this work,” said Al-Thani. “The use of color and the influence of neo-expressionism as an artistic movement of that time.”
The timing was deliberate. As the war in Gaza continues, Qatar plays a key role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas. Al-Thani himself is not involved in the current peace negotiations and speaks to NY1 in an independent capacity.
“Qatar is doing its best, together with its allies, and we hope that the political leaders directly involved in this conflict recognize that this suffering must end immediately so that all sides can live lives of prosperity and peace,” he said.
The artist Kanso was born in Beirut and was surrounded by the conflicts in the Middle East. In the late 1960s he moved to New York to study at NYU when there were protests against the Vietnam War. The reality of the war – from Kanso’s perspective – is shown in the exhibition “Endless Night”.
“He recognized that the idea of war, no matter how distant or foreign, has an impact on our common humanity, and he recognized the importance of art taking the form of protest and documenting these unfortunate circumstances,” Al-Thani said.
These circumstances include the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas whose condition is unknown and the more than 40,000 Gaza residents killed during the Israeli military campaign, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
“This is frustrating because nobody wants an innocent civilian to go through war and conflict. Nobody wants a family to be separated from their loved ones,” he said.
Al-Thani’s decision to show Kanso’s work could be criticized as biased, but he says his institute is a safe place for everyone.
“Inclusivity is so important and it is key to our program and to my personal approach to art and culture. It should be inclusive,” he said. “It is important to understand that there are Arab Christians, Arab Druze and Arab Jews who exist within the framework of the Islamic and Arab world.”
There is no information yet on what exhibition will be next. This one, Al-Thani says, is so popular that she has extended the exhibition until the end of October, as high school and college students reserve their time to visit the gallery.
