Arida joins the institution from the Sursock Museum in Beirut
Zeina Arida has been announced as the new director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. Arida took up the role this month, succeeding Abdellah Karroum who will become a special curatorial advisor to Sheikha Amna Al Thani, acting deputy CEO of Museums, Collections and Heritage Protection for Qatar Museums and director of the National Museum of Qatar.
Arida joins from the Sursock Museum in Beirut, where she served as director since the institution’s reopening in 2014 after a ten-year expansion and renovation project. She’s largely credited for modernising the museum and turning it into a landmark of the Beirut art scene, initiating local and international partnerships, presenting exhibitions, public programmes, as well as library and archives programmes. In 2020, after the damage caused by the Beirut blast, Arida managed to raise $2.5 million towards rebuilding the space and restoring the artworks. She had previously earned her stripes during a 17-year tenure as director of the nonprofit Arab Image Foundation, which she cofounded upon her return to Lebanon after the civil war with the aim of preserving the photographic heritage of the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora. Arida is currently a member of the board of directors of MUCEM, Marseille; a member of the Advisory Board of Darat Al Funun, Amman; and a member of the Scientific Committee of Beit Beirut.
