Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi speaks to Rolling Stone with rare candour about the mission that has shaped his life’s work: breaking ground on Barjeel’s first dedicated museum in Sharjah, set to open in January 2028; co-editing a landmark book bridging Arab and Indian art; and reflecting on the Arab Spring, a moment he calls the most consequential of his lifetime. Read more »
Arab World
The Sheikh and His Canon
“Our task here is to rescue artworks, archives and stories before they disappear in yet another war.” Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi uses his fortune and his connections to track down the Arab world’s masterpieces. Read more »
Revisiting the Arab Charter for Human Rights
In this article Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi discusses the history of the Arab Charter of Human Rights and the changes that could facilitate much-needed improvements with regard to human rights in the Arab world. Read more »
English is gaining ground in the Arab world – at Arabic’s expense
With each passing year, the decline of spoken Arabic is only growing. Steps are being taken to preserve it, but this continues to be an uphill battle. In this article, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi argues for the importance of globalising and modernising without losing our language. Read more »
New Arab Hip Hop: Between Love and Rebellion
A generational divide is manifesting itself in the Arab World in politics, activism, human rights and more recently in music. Nowhere is this more evident than in the hip hop industry. Read more »
Middle Eastern Art in Conflict
Join the Georgetown MENA Forum on Friday, April 20 from 12:30-2:30pm for a conversation on Middle Eastern art in conflict with the founder of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi. Read more »