Today, Qatar Museums unveiled artworks by three artists: Icelandic-Danish Olafur Eliasson, Lebanese Simone Fattal, and Brazilian Ernesto Neto, who were commissioned to create them in the desert adjacent to the sites of Zubara and Ain Mohammed in the far north of the country, as part of the "Qatar Innovates" initiative. The national cultural initiative that sponsors and promotes cultural activities in the country and celebrates their diversity.

These works join more than 100 works of public art belonging to Qatar Museums that are scattered in public places in the country, from Hamad International Airport to Souq Waqif, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums’ Board of Trustees, said in a statement on the occasion: “Today is a very special moment of pride for Qatar Museums, not only because we presented three wonderful works by three of the world’s most admired contemporary artists, but also because we celebrate heritage sites as well. ancient in Qatar. Al Zubarah, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has been exceptionally preserved and has helped in a deeper understanding of Qatar's national identity and the unique story of the pearl trade. As for the village of Ain Muhammad, the Al-Nuaimi family has restored its historical buildings, with the aim of serving the local community at the present time and in the future, in order to repurpose it as a site for heritage activities and traditional sports. And these two sites are just a simple example of the way we honor our material culture.

For his part, artist Olafur Eliasson explained that his installation “Travel of Shadows in the Sea of Day” (2022), consisting of twenty circular sanctuaries with reflective ceilings, is an invitation to harmony with the planet. It is a celebration of everything that exists and moves across the desert in the north of the country from animals, plants and people, even wind, sunlight, air and heat.
For her part, artist Simone Fattal believes that her artwork / Maqam 1, Maqam 2, and Maqam 3/ which consists of three blue granite sculptures with multiple shapes, were made to look like real, so people look at them and ask: Are they ancient pyramids? Or tents set up for a long time? In fact, the sculptures represent both. Because it will provide shelter for passersby, protect them from the sun, and speak to the imagination, because it embodies a composite image of what we expect to find in the desert.”
In turn, the artist Ernesto Neto said that his installation Lazy Turtle and the Skeleton of the Earth (2022) invites people to live their lives, sing, dance, sit on cushions, feel the energy, strength and air, and feel the amazing beauty of planet Earth. It creates a space for contemplation of the present, the past and the future within a social and ecological network shared by humans, birds, insects, plants and all other forms of life.

It is worth noting that these artworks highlight the importance of heritage sites in Qatar. Al Zubara, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013 and is located about 100 kilometers northwest of Doha, is one of the best surviving examples of pearl trading cities in Qatar. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the Arabian Gulf region. Unlike its counterparts, the ruins of Al Zubarah have remained largely intact, and have not disappeared beneath the vast modern cities of the region.
As for "Ain Muhammad", it is an abandoned village located three and a half kilometers north of Zubarah, opposite the new Zubarah Visitors Center, and it contains 24 buildings, including two mosques and a fort. The village has recently been restored with the purpose of repurposing it as a site for heritage activities and traditional sports, among other purposes.