Doha Design District names four winners of its Public Art Open Call

Doha Design District has announced the four winning projects of its flagship Public Art Open Call, selected from a shortlist of 20 proposals that advanced through an extensive review process.

The winners were decided through a two-stage evaluation that paired the judgement of an independent jury with an open public vote, ensuring that both expert assessment and community sentiment shaped the outcome. The selection narrowed an initial pool of more than 220 proposals — submitted by artists and designers of 53 nationalities — to 20 finalists representing 14 nationalities, and finally to the four winning designs.

The jury brought together some of the region’s most respected figures in design, culture, and urban development, with representation from Msheireb Properties, Qatar Museums, and Qatar Creates (QC+), alongside the public vote inviting the community to help shape the city’s art and landscaping. The four winning teams will now move into development, realizing their installations across Msheireb Downtown Doha and turning the district, piece by piece, into an open-air stage for contemporary artistic expression.

The four winning projects

Gravity Drops Along a Surface  —  Maraj – Architecture and Design Practice (Bahrain)
A sculptural public landscape that invites movement, interaction, and play.

Desert in Motion  —  Dana Anas, Architect (India, based in Qatar)
An organic public art installation inspired by the flowing forms of sand dunes.

Whispering Leaves  —  Guillaume Rousere & Maryam Faraj Al-Suwaidi, Artists (France & Qatar)
An interactive listening sculpture that invites people to slow down, gather, and reconnect with their surroundings.

Fanayeen  —  Boo Design Studio (Lebanon & Qatar)
A large-scale installation that reinterprets the traditional Majlis as a tent built entirely from around 30,000 suspended Arabic coffee cups.

Shaping the public realm

Dana Kazic, Director of Doha Design District, said the response had exceeded expectations:

“We have been overwhelmed by the response and by the creativity of the projects submitted … The Public Art Open Call is a clear reflection of Doha Design District’s role in shaping the public realm, and of its power to invite the public to take part in designing their own cities and neighbourhoods.”

In a joint statement, the jury committee praised the strength of the field:

“All of the shortlisted projects were creative and authentic, which made for a genuinely difficult selection process … Our message to every artist who took part is simple: keep your passion alive and continue your creative journey, because it is through voices like yours that the design of our public spaces is shaped.”

Source: Qatar News Agency (QNA), Doha, August 12, 2026.