3 minute read

Letter from Chairperson��

from 2021 - Year in Review

Exhibitions��

Art

At QAIC, guests are invited to take in a rich visual and immersive experience by visiting our exhibitions and galleries, and to share in their own artistic vision through participation in programs such as delegations and the FOCI Photography program.

Perfumery Museum

A look inside QAIC’s Perfumery Museum where guests can learn about the history of fragrance, its cultural importance, and even test their sense of scent.

In 2021, QAIC opened the doors to its newest cultural installation, the Perfumery Museum. This new permanent room expands on our commitment to art and cultural programming by sharing the story of fragrance’s significant impact to society across time and the world.

The Perfumery Museum offers a mix of both historical and contemporary accounts through a variety of informative displays and interactive elements. QAIC hosted over 40 individual tours of its Perfumery Museum from May - December 2021.

As part of its Perfumery Museum programming, QAIC partnered with mother-daughter duo Sherry Meredith and Gretchen Sterling of DIY Scent Studio to demo a create-your-own fragrance workshop. During this unforgettable team building activity, the team was given an overview of perfume history facts, the science behind the scent families, and the nuances of smells within those groups, such as floral, spicy, herbaceous, animal, fruits, woods, and greens. QAIC will run further workshops in collaboration with DIY Scent Studio which will be open to the public in mid-2022.

QAIC had the opportunity to interview esteemed fragrance expert Michael Edwards whose organization, Fragrances of the World, played a vital role in the development of the Perfumery Museum. Featured in the second issue of the A2Q magazine in 2021, our conversation with Edwards touched upon the history of perfume, his personal journey to becoming one of the world’s top fragrance experts, and the significance of perfume in our daily lives.

Creatives Hub

The Creatives Hub is QAIC’s online platform to connect artists, photographers, filmmakers, and creatives-at-large with opportunities for art exchange, collaboration, and representation. Together with our programmatic partners, we provide a range of national and international exhbitions, magazine features, media interviews, and immersive trips to support talent, ideas, and cross-cultural dialogue. We aspire to fuel artistic growth and enable the next generation of artists to grow in confidence, creative marvelous works, and ultimately make a positive impact on the world.

In celebration of World Photo Day on August 19, 2021, QAIC announced a call for submissions as part of the 2021 FOCI photography initiative. The theme for submissions, “Road to Reopening,” aimed to highlight communities’ resilience in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and their adaption to the new “status quo.” As World Photo Day celebrates photographers and their ability to share their experiences with the world, this theme was particularly fitting to show different perspectives on the journey to reopening. The selected photographs were featured on the QAIC Instagram account and website.