A UEFA Champions League trophy sat in the Qatar Lounge at Art Basel in Switzerland this month, and the crowd around it was not only gallery owners. The Paris Saint-Germain trophy was one of several draws in a space Qatar set up to keep collectors thinking about Doha. The Lounge closed on June 24.
Qatar Sports Investments and QC+ presented it, in partnership with Qatar Airways. The target is the second Art Basel Qatar, set for 28 to 30 January 2027, with Preview Days on 26 and 27 January. The first edition took place in Doha in February 2026.
Inside the Lounge
The room was meant to be calm. Limestone textures, soft dune-like curves and mineral tones drew on the desert and the oasis. Jiwan, the MICHELIN-recognised restaurant at the National Museum of Qatar, supplied the food. Qatari artist Mubarak Nasser Al-Thani designed the staff uniforms and a run of limited-edition items.
The program was a string of small events. Besides the trophy presentation, there was a meet-and-greet with Wassan Al-Khudhairi, the Iraqi curator recently named Artistic Director of Art Basel Qatar for 2027. She was the founding director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar. Spanish artist Edgar Plans showed his limited-edition jerseys and posters, part of an ongoing collaboration between Qatar Sports Investments, Paris Saint-Germain and Art Basel. A reception for Art Basel’s Discovery Program brought together international lifestyle collectors.
No new galleries or sales were announced.
The pitch
Kirstin Mearns, CEO of QC+, said the Lounge “provided an important platform to engage directly with the international art community.” Following the first Doha fair, she said, the Basel presence “helps continue that momentum, deepen relationships with collectors, galleries, artists, and cultural partners, and build anticipation” for the second.
Qatar Airways is the Doha fair’s Premium Partner. Art Basel Qatar says it is committed to developing the regional art market through an annual fair and year-round programming that connects galleries, artists, collectors, institutions and audiences from the Global South and beyond.
Sources
- Qatar Lounge Concludes Its Presence at Art Basel in Switzerland
- Qatar Lounge Concludes Successful Engagement at Art Basel in Switzerland – Business Arabia
- Qatar lounge at Art Basel brings Doha’s cultural momentum to global art stage
