“Knock, Rain, Knock,” Qatar’s first pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale, South Korea’s oldest contemporary art biennale, replicates alluring sights and sounds of the Qatari desert. Inside the pavilion, curated by the National Museum of Qatar, seven Qatari and Qatar-based artists and designers present works that delve into Arab and Islamic identity, culture, and history. Notable symbolic references are made to the nature of water, especially rain in Qatari culture. The meditative sounds of the “salat al istisqa,” an Islamic prayer that was used to call for rain during droughts, emanates through the pavilion acting as a bridge between Islamic tradition and contemporary culture. Qatar is the only Arab country represented at the biennale, which runs until December 1, reflecting the importance the Gulf Arab state places on engagement with Asia.

Qatar Pavilion at South Korea’s Gwangju Biennale

While people might not often think of rain in the Arabian desert, Qatar’s debut exhibition at the Gwangju Biennale sought to break down such stereotypes and show how vital rainfall is to Qatar. This is illustrated in Fatima Abbas’ “Glimpse of Rain,” an abstract diptych that compares a year of rainfall and a year of drought in Qatar through color-coded squares representing weather data, showing the rain’s effect on the natural landscape each year. Where vibrant and deep greens signify a year when there is rain, somber shades of brown indicate a year of drought.

Qatar’s pavilion reflected the biennale’s larger theme: “Pansori: A Soundscape of the 21st century.” The theme pays tribute to a musical form that originated in southwest Korea in the 17th century to accompany shamanistic rituals. It’s literal meaning, according to the Gwangju Biennale’s website, is “the noise from the public place,” or the voice of the common people. The Qatari exhibition seeks to reflect this notion of space, the natural landscape, spirituality, and the focus on sound and storytelling through the works on display.

“They are rooted in Qatar’s cultural heritage and Islamic religion and resonate on a global scale, touching on pressing issues like environmental awareness, sustainability, and the importance of community life,” explained Tania Abdulmonem Al Majid, deputy director of curatorial affairs at the National Museum of Qatar, underlining how the scope of the show was “to create a meaningful dialogue between Qatari traditions and the cultural context of South Korea.”

Qatar’s involvement in the Gwangju Biennale, Abdulaziz bin Hamad al-Thani, director of the National Museum of Qatar, noted, “also showcases Qatar’s commitment to fostering “cross-cultural dialogue and the exchange of ideas on an international stage.” He explained that the Gulf country’s participation in the Gwangju Biennale “is part of a broader strategic vision to engage continuously with new audiences, build meaningful relationships, and promote vibrant cultural exchange.”

Fostering Broader Cultural Ties With Asia

In late September, a few weeks after the opening of the Gwangju Biennale, Qatar Museums signed a historic memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of China, significantly bolstering the commitment of both institutions to museum collaborations. The new agreement furthers the work of the Qatar-China Friendship Association, a legacy of the 2016 Qatar-China Year of Culture.

“This is an important step toward creating a global understanding of our shared heritage,” explained Abdulaziz bin Hamad al-Thani. He noted that the partnership “will not only strengthen the cultural ties between our countries but also create new opportunities for collaboration in museum innovation, research, and educational programs.” He also highlighted Qatar’s agreement with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority in Hong Kong as an effort “to promote cultural understanding.” Of the two initiatives, he said, “through such collaborations, we aim to both showcase Qatari art and learn from the innovative practices emerging from Asia.”

Parallels in Chinese and Saudi Art

Building new audiences and avenues for artistic dialogue appears to be increasingly geared toward Asia for the cultural scenes of Gulf Arab states. At the end of September, Saudi Arabia opened its first-ever exhibition of contemporary Chinese art – “The Writings of Today are a Promise for Tomorrow.” Organized by the Saudi Museums Commission at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art in the JAX district of Riyadh’s historic area of Diriyah, the exhibition runs until January 18, 2025 and presents more than 50 works by over 30 Chinese artists from various cultural backgrounds and generations.

Curated by independent art historian and curator Martina Köppel-Yang, the exhibition seeks to shed light on the parallels between Arab and Chinese traditions through what Köppel-Yang sees as two central elements the cultures share: calligraphy and the garden. “Writing is as important in Chinese culture as it is in Arabic culture,” said Köppel-Yang, explaining the title of the show. “Historically, Chinese calligraphy was very much influenced by Arabic calligraphy. You really have a long history of relations between China and the Arabic culture.”

Additionally, the scenography of the exhibition aims to replicate the structure of a Chinese garden, typically enclosed by walls and including ponds, rocks, trees, and flowers. In the catalogue of the exhibition, Köppel-Yang included a quote by German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk from his 2014 book “You Must Change Your Life”: “Gardens are enclosed areas in which plants and arts meet. They form ‘cultures’ in an uncompromised sense of the word.”

On view for the first time in the kingdom are works by Paris-based Algerian French artist Adel Abdessemed and Taiwanese artist Michael Lin. Abdessemed’s large-scale piece consists of 11 garbage trucks that collect waste in today’s urban metropolises. Among the trucks he incorporates elements related to art history, collective memory, and personal history as if to bring back part of what the trucks take away, perhaps as a metaphor for massive urban development.

The aim of the exhibition, echoing that of his Qatari cultural counterparts, said Ibrahim Al-Sanousi, acting CEO of the Saudi Museums Commission, is “to foster cross-cultural dialogue and international exchange and understanding through art.” It also takes place around the 25th anniversary of the establishment of official Saudi-Chinese relations.

Köppel-Yang believes there is great similarity to be found in works by contemporary Saudi and Chinese artists. Notably, the first Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, held from December 2021 to March 2022 and curated by Phil Tinari, the CEO of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, included several works by contemporary Chinese artists. The theme was “Feeling the Stones,” which comes from the Chinese saying “crossing the river by feeling the stones,” a slogan behind China’s policy of reform and opening during the 1970s.

There are many parallels to earlier periods of reform in China, noted Köppel-Yang, in the massive state-led socioeconomic transformation in Saudi Arabia today, and this is reflected in the art being created.

“Many of the works by Chinese artist are about this loss of memory, loss of their former environment and fast-paced economic growth,” she said, noting how she similarly observes in Saudi Arabia today how artists have been grappling with the state of constant change. “I visited Riyadh for the first time in June, and it made me think of China in the late ‘80s and ‘90s,” she said. “There is the craze for building; whole new city blocks are being built. Everything is about to change. The people will, similarly to the Chinese in the ‘90s, lose reference points for their collective and personal memory.” She added, “They may not even be able to recognize the street in which they were born. I think the same things will happen to Saudis that took place in China.”

At the beginning of the exhibition is the 1993 color photograph by Zheng Guogu “Me and My Teacher.” It shows the artist squatting on a street in China next to his teacher, a homeless man with learning difficulties. For six months, Zheng accompanied the man through the streets of Yangjiang, China using his camera to record scenes from daily life. What intrigued Zheng was the young man’s view of the world, which was free from conventions. As the title of the artwork suggests, this made him become a mentor of sorts to Zheng.

“He has nothing, and he doesn’t want anything either – he’s just happy,” explained Köppel-Yang, referencing the teacher. “is, for me, another important subject in the exhibition, especially regarding this incredibly fast-paced development of Saudi Arabia and the former incredibly fast development of China. Is the only way forward fast economic development? I wanted to confront the public with this idea of what is essential in your life. What are you going to gain? What are you going to lose?”

Köppel-Yang termed the increase in both sociocultural and economic relations between Asia and the Gulf Arab states a “new Silk Road.” It is, in essence, part of China’s present mission to create a new Silk Road that passes through Central Asia and the Gulf Arab states.

“I think it is logical that Saudi Arabia decided to stage this exhibition,” Köppel-Yang stated, emphasizing also that she feels culturally there is more in common between the Gulf and the Far East than there is between the Gulf and the West. “For the Arabian Gulf, China is an important connection,” emphasized Köppel-Yang. “There are the geopolitics and the economics, but the global poles of influence are changing. It’s no longer about West and East and North and South. There are many new centers and alliances being created, and this is very positive.”