Unruly Waters

The headline exhibition of Rubaiya Qatar, the country's first international visual arts quadrennial, Unruly Waters is curated by Tom Eccles, Ruba Katrib, Shabbir Hussain Mustafa and Mark Rappolt and presented at the newly renovated Al Riwaq building, the Museum of Islamic Art and MIA Park. Taking its title from historian Sunil Amrith's book, it traces how trade winds, monsoons and ocean currents have shaped cross-cultural exchange, presenting more than 30 new commissions by artists including Sophia Al-Maria, Majid Al-Remaihi, Bani Abidi, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Alia Farid, Ayoung Kim, Oscar Murillo and Marina Tabassum, alongside artefacts from the tenth-century Cirebon shipwreck from Qatar Museums' collections. Rubaiya Qatar runs 21 November 2026 – 30 April 2027.