Qatar Museums online collection grows 60%, adds new digital features

Doha, Qatar - Qatar Museums' online collection grew by 60% since its launch in April 2025, expanding from around 1,000 objects to over 1,600. The platform now offers a suite of digital features including artist-created animations, games, quizzes, a personalized collection tool, an interactive timeline, and AI-powered recommendations.

Available in English and Arabic, the Online Collection provides digital access to artworks and cultural objects from the National Museum of Qatar, Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf, 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic Museum, and other Qatar Museums collections. New additions are made regularly.

Key enhancements were funded by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and developed by Qatar-based digital experience firm Applab. Visitors can now create personal accounts, save favorite objects, and organize them into custom collections. An interactive timeline lets users explore items chronologically from 300,000 BCE to the present.

Filtering by museum, material, and other details aids browsing. Each object page displays comprehensive details, with side-by-side comparison and related information via clickable metadata. Recommendation tools suggest objects based on shared attributes, while AI-powered visual matching identifies similar pieces throughout the collection.

Games and quizzes offer engaging ways to learn about the works and their stories. Artist Andrey Zakirzyanov contributes animated videos, providing visual interpretations of selected works, notably his handcrafted animations of Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The platform categorizes objects into paintings, printed materials, numismatics, accessories, jewelry, archaeology, textiles, machinery, and more.