Photos by Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula
A huge and diverse collection of artworks, which integrate the concept of solar energy, are on display at the first-ever MENA Solar Art Festival which opened last night at Fire Station - Artist in Residence.
Presented by Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) in collaboration with Qatar Museums, the festival scheduled until November 25 features exceptional solar art commissions created by globally renowned solar artists as well as more than 200 works by Qatar-based students from various schools from Primary to University level.
“We just provided the students materials and using their imagination, they created designs which combine art with the concept of solar energy. The future is solar energy, so I’m so proud of these students,” Chairman and CEO of QSTec, Dr Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, said at the opening of the festival.
The two-week exhibition includes the works of a wide range of international artisans who have dedicated themselves to recreational uses of solar energy.
Among the most interesting pieces on display which attracted many visitors during last night’s opening event are Olafur Eliasson’s Little Sun, a global project that produces and distributes solar lamps for use in off-grid communities; Craig Colorusso’s Sun Boxes, a composite of audio speakers and solar panels that come together to create an energizing environment; Anthony Castronovo and Eleonora Nicoletti’s Solar Shimmer, a kinetic screen that displays vibrant, geometric patterns using discarded plastics and solar energy; and the student-made Shams Mashrabiya, a living installation composed of artworks created by children in workshops preceding the festival.
Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud (left), CEO and Special Advisor to the Chairperson of Qatar Museums, and Dr Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri (second right), Chairman and CEO of Qatar Solar Technologies tour the exhibition at the Doha Fire Station yesterday.
Solar Art Festival also separately exhibits artworks that were developed by school and university-level students around Qatar, as part of QSTec’s award-winning Shams Generation initiative, an interdisciplinary approach to education combining science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. The annual nationwide program educates youth about the importance of environmental sustainability through hands-on interactive solar learning activities held across school campuses and universities in Qatar.
Dr Al Hajri said: “At Qatar Solar Technologies, we are wholeheartedly dedicated to supporting Qatar as it builds a modern, efficient and diversified energy sector to complement its national development objectives. And to achieve our transformative goals, we must all play a proactive role in turning the exciting potential of a renewable-energy driven future into a reality. One way to do this is to broaden our collective understanding of solar energy and inspirit ourselves through art and education.”
A joint initiative of QSTec and Qatar Museums, the festival is also the collaborative result of QSTec’s organizing partnership with Qatar Foundation, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, WISE Initiative, Qatar Green Building Council and Fire Station – Artist in Residence.
A Solar Art Forum will be held at 7pm tonight, where registered public participants may meet the artists during an interactive panel discussion on solar design and the prospects of this field in the future. A series of informative interactive workshops for children and adults –led by visiting solar artists as well as QSTec’s Shams Generation initiative educators – are also scheduled during the festival.
To participate, interested community members may register for free by logging on to www.solarfestival.qa. Entry to the exhibition is free to the public.
