Street art in Doha, Qatar have grown into an exciting alternative movement of artistic expression. Here are some you have to see!
8 March 2020
| Last updated on 9 March 2020Explore urban art in Doha's unexpected places...
When I am exploring a new city, I love to soak in the city’s street art. It provides a unique glimpse into the pop culture of a society, often containing cultural, political and social views through colorful illustrations.
In the GCC, street art is often planned, tendered and commissioned so it is not common that one can enjoy authentic street art in its native form.
In Doha, it is refreshing to find a pocket of vibrant street art off of the Midmac Roundabout on Salwa Road, located in the Al Mamoura neighborhood.
There is a lonely section of decaying walls that are the home of Mubarak Al Malik’s vivid creations.
Mubarak Al Malik has been dubbed the "Qatari Banksy" for painting graffiti on walls of abandoned yards and buildings around Doha, similar to British street artist.
The tag Mubarak1221 accompanies his works which are snippets of Arab pop culture. Works of the self-taught artist include striking murals of Qatari women wearing traditional national wear and iconic Arab figures such as popular Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.
His earlier works in Al Mamoura are realism in style while his more recent works are more abstract in nature.
Mubarak Al Malik’s work has been showcased at Education City, Katara Cultural Village and Hamad International Airport.
His goal is to help spread street art as a form of art in Qatar.
In an interview with Doha News featured in Arabian Business in 2016, he shared, "I want this form of art to spread in Qatar, and I hope that I can be the one to do that."
Follow Mubarak on Instagram @mubarak1221 for his updated works.
- Tags:
- street art
- qatar
- art in qatar
- doha
- graffiti