Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Qatar has experienced a significant cultural boom in the last decade with a number of museums introduced by Qatar Museums, the lead body for museums in the country. One of these museums is Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art exhibiting works of modern and contemporary art by Arab artists, holding the world’s largest specialised collection of its kind (Mathaf About, 2016). In 2011, UCL established an academic centre for the study of cultural heritage in Qatar, offering amongst others an MA in Museums and Gallery Practice with a focus in the GCC region. This paper discusses the collaboration between UCL Qatar’s MA students and Mathaf museum and how the museum space and exhibitions are incorporated into the learning process while training future museum educators. The paper discusses the teaching techniques and methods used throughout the Museum Learning MA module, the importance of connecting theory and practice in higher education, and the significance that a museum space and its professionals may have in shaping students’ perspective of museums’ educational role. Focus will be given on the community engagement program (museum family day) that is planned, implemented, and evaluated by the MA students in collaboration with Mathaf’s professionals, by presenting how the students have utilised the museum’s exhibition, the selected learning outcomes and objectives, possible challenges, and emphasis of planning in Muslim community setting. This paper discusses the importance of creating collaborations between museums and universities and creates a forum for dialogue in pursue of best practice in training museum professionals.