review MAGNUM OPUS Doha’s Cultural Village premieres its first exhibition, In Our Time, a photographic show in collaboration with the Qatar Museums Authority and renowned photo agency Magnum. Myrna Ayad reviews the first in a string of cultural events, all supporting Qatar’s role as 2010 Arab Capital of Culture. Facing page: Above: Marc Riboud. Prayer in Rub’Al- Khali in Saudi Arabia. 1974. Silver gelatin F print. 50.5 x 41.5 cm. © Marc Riboud / Magnum Photos. Below: Henri Cartier-Bresson. Muslim women on the slopes of Hari Parbal Hill, praying toward the sun rising behind the Himalayas in Srinagar, Kashmir. 1948. Silver gelatin print.41.5 x 50.5 cm. © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos. our men sat in a Parisian Accessibility Is Key of visitors, from families and students to locals and bar a little after the end of Over 60 years after its inception, the Magnum expatriates. Since the 21 September opening, the the Second World War. Affected by the horrors archive amounts to over one million images (of exhibition has attracted a steady stream of visitors, which they had photographed, Robert Capa, which 500,000 form their online archive). For the which is an encouraging response from a public Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and Dav- agency’s 40th anniversary a groundbreaking trav- whose cultural scene is still in its infancy. The show id “Chim” Seymour discussed an idea. Later, at elling show was staged, accompanied by a book: ran until 30 October and featured rare original the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Capa In Our Time, the World as Seen by Magnum Photog- prints covering the period from 1936-87. All prints toasted the war’s end and new beginnings. The raphers 1936–1987. Six sets comprising over 300 are either signed by the photographers or, in the world had much to offer, and, over a 1.5 litre prints each were produced – two of these were case of deceased photographers, stamped by the bottle of champagne, a photographic agency portfolio editions, the other four exhibition sets photographers’ estate. A plethora of events from was founded and named after the bottle’s size: touring the world before being decommissioned around the world are showcased – from dem- Magnum. That was 1947 and Magnum has kept (unframed) – and the Qatar Museums Authority onstrations against the Vietnam War, the funeral its original promise: to capture those moments (QMA) purchased one of the former in 2002. The of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser and when the lines between photographer and per- choice to inaugurate Doha’s Cultural Village with icons of the 20th century which include Queen son become blurred and to seize how a scene 100 images from In Our Time was largely a result of Elizabeth II and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, to images can be seen. The fundamental principle was for “wanting to plant the seeds of photojournalism in of some of the world’s most stunning natural the image to suggest a narrative. people,” according to Nigel Russell, QMA’s Photog- scenery – among them, the Amazon River and Magnum differed from other photographic raphy Consultant. “We felt people would be recep- the Himalayas. “Rather than doing it in chrono- agencies in two respects: first, it was established tive to this material as it’s very accessible,” he added, logical order or by theme, I felt it was better to do as a cooperative, meaning the staff would guide, “and it would get people to think outside the box.” it by photographer and then edit the selection,” rather than direct, the photographers; and sec- Sophie Wright, Magnum’s Cultural and Print Room added Russell on the curation process. The port- ond, the photographers would own the copy- Director, agrees with the notion of photography folio comprises black-and-white gelatine silver right to their images, allowing them the liberty as an “accessible” medium. “You can approach prints as well as dye-transfer colour prints, created to travel wherever their lens would take them photography in many different ways,” she says, “it’s through a process that is no longer available. Run- and fund themselves. Growing from strength to around us all the time and we understand it, mak- ning alongside the exhibition were a workshop, strength, Magnum represents 70 photographers, ing it a nice way to engage audiences.” panel discussion and a specially produced bilin- of which 45 are still working. All of them have Turnout on the exhibition’s opening night gual catalogue published in Arabic and English. taken iconic images that are famous worldwide. was impressive, with an overwhelming number Three Magnum photographers whose works 78 review “We want to inspire the next generation of photographers.” -Sophie Wright, Magnum’s Cultural and Print Room Director were included in the exhibition – Bruno Barbey, Susan Meiselas and Peter Marlow – were flown in to attend; the latter headed the workshop, which saw 14 participants awarded a Magnum certifi- cate upon completion of a 15-image narrative. During the talks, the Magnum photographers discussed a body of work. “We want to inspire the next generation of photographers,” said Wright, “we will survive because of them.” Challenges And Pledges Time was a critical factor in the realisation of In Our Time. Plans for the Cultural Village opening suffered delays in the project’s completion. Initial curatorial discussions began in September 2009 with a proposed launch date of spring this year; work on the exhibition and catalogue was under- way early on but the most significant challenge was curating an exhibition for a space that did not yet exist. QMA collaborated with lighting and mu- seum design firm, George Sexton Associates, who designed the partitions and colour schemes; the whole process, adds Wright, “went very smoothly”. Another key element was the catalogue, the first bilingual publication Magnum worked on; with images and contributing texts from HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa Bint Hamad Al-Thani, QMA Chairper- son, Nicholas Couts, QMA Curator of Photography Collections and Gerry Badger, photographer, ar- chitect and photographic critic. “Qatar is impres- sive,” adds Wright, “there is a real commitment to building a cultural infrastructure.” For more information visit www.qma.com.qa 79
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