Years of Culture

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2022/05/28 - 2022/06/11

Once Upon a Bag - A New Chapter of Hermès Heritage Exhibitions

National Museum of Qatar

From 28 May to 11 June 2022, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) is to host a fourth chapter of the Hermès Heritage cycle of touring exhibitions, which explores the story of Hermès from its origins to the present day. After Harnessing the roots, Rouges Hermès and In Motion*, the Once upon a bag exhibition retraces the history of bags, which offer a veritable compendium of know-how and design, transcending eras and generations.

This artisanal and creative adventure, part memory and part modernity, is presented here with the assistance of Bruno Gaudichon, curator of La Piscine museum of art and industry in Roubaix, and scenographer Laurence Fontaine. With a narrative approach that juxtaposes the languages of time, the scenography draws parallels between fifty or so contemporary models and objects from the house’s Conservatoire of Creations and the Émile Hermès collection – a remarkable cabinet of curiosities. The display begins with the history of the Haut à courroies bag, which appeared in the early 20th century. This artefact with equestrian roots bears witness to the house’s expansion into leather goods. Structured into themes, the exhibition continues with an area devoted to the different families of bags – the clutch, the ladies’ bag (Kelly, Constance, Simone Hermès, etc.), the men’s bag (Sac à dépêches, Cityback basketball backpack, etc.), the travel bag (Plume 24h, Herbag, etc.), and the sports bag – and presents the defining stages of their respective stories.

This presentation of Hermès’ leather goods, which are an ideal playground for innovation, is accompanied by a rich array of iconography to illustrate changing lifestyles and uses. Once upon a bag invites visitors to travel back and forth between past and present to discover bags that are both poetic and functional, crafted for the long term, the fruit of boundless imagination.

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10th Anniversary

A decade goes by quickly when you’re greeting the world.

This is the 10th Year of Culture. So many new ideas and collaborations have been created over the past decade from Qatar-Japan in 2012 until now, when for the first time, we're partnering with an entire region - MENASA. Here’s to many more years of connecting with old friends and friends to be.

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