Qatar's Sheikha Al Mayassa Eyes Turin for Major Art Collection

Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, sister of Qatar's emir and president of Qatar Museums, is reportedly scouting Turin for cultural and real estate investments. She is considering acquiring Palazzo del Lavoro, a 1961 building by Pier Luigi Nervi now in disrepair, to house her contemporary art collection. The sheikha, born in Doha in 1983, chairs Qatar Museums, which oversees institutions like the Museum of Islamic Art (I.M. Pei, 2008), Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art (2010), and the National Museum of Qatar (Jean Nouvel, 2019). She has collaborated with Italian curators Massimiliano Gioni (exhibitions for Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, and Valentino) and Francesco Bonami (Yan Pei-Ming and Damien Hirst shows). Her friendship with collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo began in 2013; Sandretto awarded her the Premio StellaRe in 2015. Al Mayassa's acquisition budget is around $1 billion annually from the Qatar Investment Authority ($600 billion fund). Her collection includes works by Rothko, Picasso, Lichtenstein, Bacon, Warhol, and Hirst. Qatari emissaries have also visited Palazzo Saluzzo di Paesana in Turin's historic center, which is for sale.