get to spend time in museums. during my working life and i have witnessed something astonishing, how radically they have changed. the days of museums as grand, intimidating treasuries for dusty objects, they are long gone. they are becoming much more dynamic and inclusive, less solemn, less elitist, museums, i believe, are having a moment and that s what i want to explore. it is art of that s what i want to explore. it is part of the that s what i want to explore. it is part of the story. that s what i want to explore. it 3 part of the story, what is that s what i want to explore. it 1 part of the story, what is the museum about, what story do you want to tell? i museum about, what story do you want to tell? , ., ., , , ., to tell? i feel proud to be standing here looking to tell? i feel proud to be standing here looking at to tell? i feel proud to be standing here looking at these to tell? i feel proud to be standing here looking at these beautiful - here looking a
about in a boat on this exact spot in the arabian gulf half a century ago, what would you have seen? not the futuristic cityscape before me today, that s for sure because in recent decades, doha has witnessed unbelievably rapid change. i can t help thinking that the same is true of art history. this excitingly dynamic discipline that s always evolving. that s certainly the case with our ever expanding understanding of islamic art the speciality of an extraordinary and recently revamped museum that s filled with masterpieces fashioned everywhere from the mediterranean to southeast asia, all housed in a stunning limestone building which i ve travelled to qatar to explore. i m hoping here not only to experience for myself some horizon broadening work from the islamic world, but also to gain insight into what we mean by islamic art. so, this is quite exciting. i wasn t sure if it was going to happen, but it s now been confirmed that i m being whisked by golf buggy to meet the
inside museums, places i ve loved ever since i was a boy. and during my working life, i ve witnessed something astonishing how radically they ve changed. the days of museums as grand, intimidating treasuries for dusty objects, they re long gone. they re becoming much more dynamic and inclusive places, less solemn, less elitist, and less west centric, too. museums, i believe, are really having a moment, and that s what i want to explore. what i am looking for is something weird, something different. i feel you ve succeeded, inci. she s one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century. so what happened 7 because she kind of, like, drops off the map. she was a woman, and she was a muslim. it s an exciting time to be interested in museums and visual art, because a great shake up of art history is underway, which is why i ve come to istanbul, that mesmerising megalopolis that straddles two continents, europe and asia. and the interplay between western and turkish art is a fu
because she kind of, like, drops off the map. she was a woman, and she was a muslim. it s an exciting time to be interested in museums and visual art, because a great shake up of art history is underway, which is why i ve come to istanbul, that mesmerising megalopolis that straddles two continents, europe and asia. and the interplay between western and turkish art is a fundamental part of the extraordinary collection of this place, istanbul modern. i m in turkey s biggest city, istanbul. in many ways, the story of istanbul is the story of the bosphorus strait, the waterway that divides the city and has made it a key meeting place for centuries. the brand new home of istanbul modern acknowledges this with an impressive open plan ground floor that connects the city with the water. and i ve been given special access to the museum as the team make final preparations ahead of its opening. any new museum needs a gifted architect to create it. and in the italian renzo piano, istanbu