Across the Arabian Gulf and the East African Coast: Post-Oil Heritage Construction in Qatar

Thursday, June 12, 2025

14:00 - 15:45 GMT

Location: MNB - Réunion 2

Presenter(s)

AL

Annette Loeseke
Braunschweig University of Art, Germany

Paper Abstract: This paper takes Msheireb Museums in Doha and the National Museum of Qatar as case studies to explore how post-oil heritage narratives have been produced in Qatar, spanning the Arabian Gulf and the East African coast. By examining exhibitions of historical and contemporary objects, photographs, videos, informational material and online resources, I foreground the multi-layered heritage entanglements between the Gulf and East Africa as narrated by Qatari museums. Building on studies about diasporic, transnational connections in the Indian Ocean region (Koch/Vora 2015; De Turk 2020), I ask to what extent museums contextualise divisive topics such as migration and the diasporic heritage of migrant workers predominantly from East Africa and the Indian Ocean region, historical and current forms of hardship and enslavement, and past and present maritime trade and human trafficking represented by the dhow, a traditional sailing vessel in the Gulf and along the East African coast. By exploring Qatari local heritage and global ambitions, I highlight the ambiguities and blind spots of museums identifying as both locally and trans-regionally situated cultural institutions and global brands (Mitchell/Al-Hammadi 2020). How can museums, while navigating the challenges and opportunities of global tourism, transform into strong civic institutions serving as informal sites of learning and exchange for various local and trans-regional communities without downplaying past and present power imbalances? How might cultural institutions in the Gulf and East Africa reconsider their hybrid or shared heritage to harness their soft power in cultural diplomacy and contribute, as third actors, to building sustainable international relations?