Students Take Masterclass in Cultural Diplomacy at Venice Architecture Biennale with Launch of Qatar Pavilion

With the opportunity to represent Qatar at one of the largest cultural forums in the world, six students from Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) traveled to Italy to attend the opening of Qatar’s permanent pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The trip offered the students of international affairs firsthand exposure to cultural diplomacy under the tutelage of Sheikha Al Mayassa bin Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, who opened the pavilion.

The Venice Architecture Biennale is a major international platform showcasing global architectural trends. In a bid to raise visibility of the country as a global cultural capital, Qatar became one of only three countries to establish a permanent pavilion in the Giardini in the last 50 years. 

Shreya on Rialto Bridge.             

The group also visited the Venice Arsenale, former production center turned exhibition site, where interactive exhibits blended architecture and artificial intelligence. “There was a robot that spoke multiple languages and reflected on architecture like a person,” said Wilbert Fils Pierre-Louis, a Culture and Politics major from the Class of 2026. The exhibitions gave Wilbert a new perspective on his place in the world.  “I didn’t expect to connect with architecture on such a personal level. Walking through those spaces made me reflect on who I am, and how I move through the world,” he said.

“Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa taught us a masterclass in cultural diplomacy,” said trip leader Professor Dr. Firat Oruc, Associate Teaching Professor of Culture and Theory, adding: “The pavilion launch was a historic moment for students to witness how culture shapes politics and how art, architecture, and heritage endure as carriers of dialogue and influence.” 

Students travelled the canals via gondola and visited sites such as Venice’s hub of social, political, and religious life, St. Mark’s Basilica and Square, and the Doge Palace museum.  

Photo: Dr. Firat Oruc (center) with L-R: Tayama Rai (NU-Q), Lawrence, Shreya, and Wilbert at the entrance of the Giardini, Venice Biennale 2025.

Photo: GU-Q students explore cultural sites around Venice

The Qatar pavilion featured “Beyti, Beytak: My Home is Your Home,” a traveling exhibition curated for the forthcoming Art Mill Museum in Qatar, which addressed themes of belonging, hospitality, and sustainability across the MENASA region. Featuring work by over 30 designers, among them Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect, the pavilion explored architecture’s role in developing society. The GU-Q delegation also had a chance to meet Lari after the pavilion opening.

“Meeting Yasmeen Lari, an icon of socially engaged architecture, was a highlight of the trip. Her pavilion reflects Qatar’s growing engagement with the MENASA art scene and its commitment to fostering meaningful cultural networks across regions,” shared Mohamad Khalil Harb, GU-Q alumnus and Head of Student Research at GU-Q, who helped organize the visit and accompanied the students to Italy.

“The exhibition allowed students to see Qatar’s cultural outreach as deeply rooted in local commitment and expansive in global ambition. It was a vivid encounter with how creative traditions move, negotiate, and communicate across borders,” added Dr. Oruc.

The experience aligns with GU-Q’s twenty-year commitment to real-world learning in fields ranging from culture, politics, economics, and history, from a unique vantage point in the heart of the Gulf region.