Notes

The second chapter switches to Qatar and the involvement of foreign professionals in museum creation. Through the consideration of Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art, Karen Exell examines the global, though predominantly western inuenced, impacts, which are perceived to exist within this and other museums in the country. Through considerations of exhibitions, non-government and former museums, and citizen commentary, aspects of western-centric museum practice can be seen to be unfullling for local audiences. The third chapter addresses parallel aspects of identity creation from within rather than from outside through the consideration of four recent exhibitionary projects in Bahrain. Architects Kamila BielinskaBasmaji and Marwan Basmaji consider the aspects of context and identity that impacted and grew from their design work on four sites, including archaeological and inside Bahrain’s National Museum. Through the consideration of symbolism as a component of identity – and the fact that within identity portrayals, some aspects will be chosen over others – they discuss their search for a greater culture-centred practice, which puts the identity of place at the core.