Years of Culture, in collaboration with Qatar Museums and Katara Cultural Village, presents Dialogue of Papers, an exhibition bringing together two artistic collaborations between Qatar, Japan and Indonesia.
The first chapter was developed in 2022 as part of Years of Culture’s continued relationship with Japan, Qatar’s first partner country during the Qatar Japan Year of Culture 2012. To mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad and Japanese artist Hayaki Nishigaki combined fibres from Qatar’s palm trees with Japanese kozo fibres. The resulting handmade paper became the foundation for 28 works featuring Arabic and Japanese calligraphy, symbols and imagery.
The second chapter took place during the Qatar Indonesia Year of Culture 2023, when Ahmad worked with Indonesian artist Widi Pangestu. Together, they combined Qatari palm fibre with Indonesian abaca and mulberry to create 36 works exploring the relationship between landscape, identity and creativity.
Ahmad’s handmade palm paper is central to both collaborations. Developed through decades of artistic practice, it connects his work to Qatar’s land, natural materials and memory.
“Paper is never merely a surface,” says curator Dr Aisha Abdullah Al Misnad. “It carries the landscape from which it is made, the knowledge of the person who makes it and the visual traditions of the artist who works on it.”
Dialogue of Papers is on view at Katara Cultural Village until 4 October 2026.
