LATINOAMERICANO exhibition unveiled at National Museum of Qatar

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Museums, in partnership with Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba), opened LATINOAMERICANO| Modern and Contemporary Art from Malba and Eduardo Costantini Collections at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ), the first major exhibition in the WANA region dedicated to Latin America’s modern and contemporary art.

On view from April 21 to July 19, 2025, the expansive showcase highlights a dynamic cultural exchange between Qatar and Latin America and stands as a centerpiece of this year’s Qatar Argentina and Chile 2025 Year of Culture, a national initiative that builds connections between Qatar and other countries through long-term cultural partnerships rooted in mutual respect and understanding.

The exhibition was unveiled by H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, in the attendance of Mohammed Saad Al-Rumaihi, CEO, Qatar Museums, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Thani, Director of National Museum of Qatar, and Teresa Bulgheroni, President of the Malba Foundation among other dignitaries.

LATINOAMERICANO brings together approximately 170 works by more than 100 pioneering and contemporary artists from across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The exhibition offers a wide-ranging exploration of Latin American visual culture from the early 20th century to the present day, tracing how artists from across the continent have reflected, challenged, and reshaped social, political, and cultural realities through art.

The exhibition, co-curated by Issa Al-Shirawi, Curator and Head of International Exhibitions at Qatar Museums, and María Amalia García, Chief Curator at Malba is organised into six thematic sections that span artistic responses to urbanisation, identity, memory, and resistance, offering a nuanced perspective on the shared yet diverse experiences that define the region’s visual language.

Visitors to LATINOAMERICANO will encounter iconic works such as Frida Kahlo’s Autorretrato con chango y loro (1942), Diego Rivera’s Baile en Tehuantepec (1928), Fernando Botero’s El viudo (1968), and Wifredo Lam’s Omi Obini (1943), among other masterworks. These are presented alongside lesser-seen gems and contemporary voices, including newly acquired pieces from Malba making their public debut, and significant works from Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the future Art Mill Museum.

Extending the exhibition into the outdoor spaces of the National Museum of Qatar, Marta Minujín’s large-scale installation Sculpture of Dreams (2023), a whimsical, inflatable structure first seen in New York’s Times Square, offers visitors a sensory expression of the playfulness and imagination found throughout Latin American art.

LATINOAMERICANO invites audiences in Qatar and the wider region to discover a rich and layered artistic heritage that has long been influential yet underrepresented in global narratives.

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