Wael Shawky, Artistic Director, Art Basel Qatar, Doha
Rachel Whiteread, artist, London
Moderator: Vincenzo de Bellis, Chief Artistic Officer and Global Director Art Basel Fairs, Basel
What can we gain from embracing impermanence? Drawing on ‘Becoming’, the theme of the inaugural Art Basel Qatar, the fair’s artistic director Wael Shawky, together with artist Rachel Whiteread, discussed transformation as an active force in cultural production – one in which histories, narratives, and identities remain unfixed. Set against the Gulf’s layered histories and accelerating present, and moderated by Art Basel’s Chief Artistic Officer Vincenzo de Bellis, the conversation probed how art both registers and produces shifts in belief and systems of meaning, and why cultivating a state of becoming can help navigate today’s global art ecology.
Artist Wael Shawky’s work, rooted in extensive research and inquiry, examines national, religious, and artistic identity through film, performance, and storytelling. He is the artistic director of the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar and the artistic director of Fire Station, Doha where he launched the Arts Intensive Study Program – a transformative initiative designed to foster critical thinking, hands-on research, and professional development for emerging Qatari and international artists.
Rachel Whiteread (b. 1963, London) is a British sculptor whose practice centers on casting the negative spaces left by architecture and domestic forms. Working in plaster, resin, and concrete, she renders absence tangible and quietly monumental. She won the Turner Prize in 1993 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1997. Her work is held in major museum collections and includes permanent public commissions, including Water Tower (1988) on the roof of Museum of Modern Art, New York and monuments in Japan, Norway, Austria, and the California desert.
Vincenzo de Bellis oversees the leadership teams of Art Basel’s five shows – Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, Paris, and Doha – and spearheads new events and initiatives. He has previously served as the curator and associate director of programs at the Walker Art Center (2016–2022), the artistic director of Miart (2012–2016), and the founding director of Peep-Hole Art Center, Milan (2009–2016). De Bellis has curated major international exhibitions and holds advanced degrees in curatorial studies and museum management.
Art Basel Conversations x Qatar Creates Talks
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