CULTURE
The Arty Ones www.artsqatar.com, bi-lingual English and Arabic
Who? artsQatar is a very new site that was created by a group of three artistic friends – Mahmoud El-Achi, Tony Elias and Nick Bradshaw. Mahmoud loves all things photography, Tony has a background in graphic design, digital calligraphy and sketching (to name a few!), and Nick has experience in music production and reportage photography. What? This independent group of art lovers writes blog posts about anything and everything art-related going on around the country. “Sure, we talk about some of the things that are coming to Qatar, some of the bigger events, exhibitions and artists,” says Nick (the self-admitted chatty one in the interview), “but we also want to highlight and showcase, particularly, up-andcoming artists here in Qatar of which there are a number under the radar.” On top of that, they each want to start being critical. “There’s a tradition of people reporting these events are happening but not necessarily reviewing them,” says Nick. “Art thrives on criticism.” Why? They all agree that the main reason they started the blog was because they were
artsQatar’s Top Tips
• Look at other blogs and websites that are out there. • Make use of templates. Make use of things like Wordpress. You can start with a template and then make it your own. Sometimes when you look at some really high profile professional websites they’ll be doing that. • Essentially, just go for it. You will find that there will be likeminded people out there and it’s a great way to reach them because unlike in say print media, where you’ve got to pay for the product and distribute, there’s an ease of access on the Internet. • Make it eye-catching and do spare some time on the design. It shouldn’t just be a case of lots of words, as that can look quite dull.
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becoming a bit frustrated with finding out about events after they’d happened (as is the Doha way). With online, they felt, they have more freedom to post events as and when they hear about them. Tony says their ultimate goal is to connect all the people who have any interest in art and spread the message. “We are aiming to be the main website that everyone has a look there and see what’s upcoming,” he tells us. What have people said? Since the trio decided to launch artsQatar, they’ve been doing surveys and polls to find out what people want to know about. They only launched in February 2013 but so far they’ve had some good feedback and, they say, the whole idea fits in with Qatar’s vision for the country, too. “You sense sometimes people are searching for information on things and we can give that,” explains Nick. “It’s nice when you do something because you’ve got an interest in it and you find out that you’re not the only ones and other people are interested.” So, if you’re one of those people and want to contribute to artsQatar – if you’re an art lover, artist, or events organiser – then contact hello@artsqatar.com. They’re a friendly bunch! u FACT QATAR JUNE
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