Doha / Qatar International Art Festival (QIAF) exhibitors at Katara
One 1.22 x 2.44 m Panel at QIAF in Doha: Canvases Hand-Painted from Your Art or Photos to Fit It
Under the organizer's FAQ for QIAF 2026, each artist gets one panel, 1.22 m wide and 2.44 m high, and all works on it must fit inside.
QIAF 2026 is scheduled for 7 to 12 December at Katara Halls, Building 12, Katara Cultural Village. If your place is confirmed and you live in Qatar or will take part in person, you hand your work over in Doha. If you chose the exhibition-only option from abroad, or you are planning for the next edition, your dates differ.
PaletteMomento is a hand-painting studio in Dafen Art Village, Shenzhen, China. We can hand-paint a canvas sized for your panel from your own artwork or photo. A painter works directly on premium linen, with no printed base. Before anything ships, you approve daylight photos of every finished canvas.
Our fastest way to discuss your schedule and price. The written quote follows by email for your records.
WhatsApp: usually an immediate reply.
Email: usually within 12 hours. Monday–Sunday.
support@palettemomento.comOr use our written quote form.
01 / Fit the panel
Plan one tall canvas or a stacked group inside the panel
QIAF is run by MAPS International WLL, with Katara as cultural partner. The rules on this page come from the organizer's English FAQ, updated in September 2026.
The organizer's FAQ gives each QIAF 2026 artist one panel, 1.22 m wide and 2.44 m high. There is no limit on the number of works, as long as all of them fit strictly inside the panel. The panel is twice as tall as it is wide, so width is usually the size that runs out first. We suggest keeping the finished size, frame included, within 1.22 m. That frame advice is ours, not a rule from the organizer.
| Panel layout | What fits, and what to decide |
|---|---|
| One tall canvas | A portrait-shaped painting or a tall crop of your photo can use most of the panel's height. Choose the crop with care, because it decides what visitors at Katara see first. |
| A stacked group read as one layout | Two or three canvases, one above another, can share the panel. Plan their sizes and the gaps between them in one drawing, so the group fills the panel evenly. |
| A work wider than 1.22 m | It will not fit one panel. The September 2026 FAQ lists extra panels at USD 350 each, but it does not say how they are placed. Ask the organizer before you choose a width over 1.22 m. |
Scaling a small work up to the panel
When you scale an image, its proportions stay fixed, so the width you pick sets the height. For example, a 40 x 40 cm painting scaled to 110 cm wide is also 110 cm high. That leaves more than a meter of panel height free for a second canvas.
Look at the shape of your source before you look at its subject. A tall source, like the canyon on the left, can use the panel's height almost as it is.
A long source, like the mountain range on the right, needs a choice. You can paint it smaller and stack it with another canvas, crop a tall section, or ask the organizer about extra panels.
Two catalog paintings, shown for their shape: one is already tall, and one is long enough to need a choice.
02 / Pick the handover route
A Doha handover and a courier delivery have different dates
Order only after the organizer has confirmed your QIAF place. The September 2026 FAQ gives 15 September 2026 as the last registration date, and that date has passed. It also says places are limited.
- 31 October 2026: exhibition-only work sent by courier must reach Qatar.
- Before 30 November 2026: the organizer's detailed submission and exhibition guidelines are due.
- 4 to 6 December 2026: artists present in Qatar for the festival hand over ready-to-display work in Doha.
- 7 to 12 December 2026: QIAF runs at Katara Halls, Building 12, Katara Cultural Village.
If you will be in Qatar for the festival, plan for the canvas to be in Doha and ready to hang by 4 December. To hand it over ready to display, you can order it stretched, or rolled with stretching planned in Doha.
If you chose exhibition-only from abroad, 31 October is the date to test. Ask us before you order, and we will tell you honestly whether it is realistic for your canvas. The organizer sends the mailing address by email.
Hanging details, and any labeling format the organizer sets, belong to the guidelines due before 30 November.
03 / Clear the image
Get the image approved before the painter starts
The organizer's FAQ excludes work that shows, or is inspired by, political, religious or obscene subjects. It also excludes the FIFA World Cup logo and material that uses someone else's copyright.
You are responsible for getting the organizer's pre-approval. The organizer may remove a work, or ask for a replacement, before, during or after the show. A removed canvas leaves your panel empty, so get approval first and order second.
Before painting starts
- The image is your own work, with nothing taken from someone else's copyright.
- Logos, branded items and copied artwork are removed, or marked for us to leave out.
- The subject has been checked against the organizer's exclusions.
- The organizer has pre-approved this exact version.
- You have told the organizer what your source is and that our studio paints the canvas from it.
You receive photos and short videos as the painting goes. Use them to check that any logo or area you marked is being left out. Our painting process page shows how each canvas is built.
04 / Give each canvas a role
Your panel canvases and your live canvas follow different rules
A QIAF exhibitor may deal with three kinds of canvas. The organizer's FAQ has separate rules for live painting and for sales, so give each canvas a clear role in your plan and in your order.
- The display canvas. It hangs in your own panel space. Our studio can paint it from your approved image.
- The priced canvas. This is a second painted version for collectors, ordered and labeled as its own piece. It hangs on the same panel, so it has to fit there too.
- The live canvas. You paint it yourself, on site during the festival. We never paint it.
Live painting at QIAF is done on site. A canvas you bring must be stamped by the organizer before you start, and live works go to the organizer afterwards. The participation package also includes a 60 x 90 cm canvas for live painting.
Sales work differently. The organizer's FAQ lets artists show prices in their own space. Each sale is made directly between artist and buyer, with no organizer commission.
You might hang one canvas as your show piece and a smaller priced version beside it. Draw both into the same panel layout before you choose their sizes.
05 / Confirm your place
Is your QIAF place confirmed, and how will the work reach Katara?
Your answer decides the canvas format and the date we plan around. A Doha handover and a courier delivery lead to different orders.
One quote can cover a single canvas, a stacked group, or a display piece with a priced version. Each canvas gets its own line and its own size.
- Your confirmed place and route: handover in Doha, or courier for exhibition-only.
- The pre-approved image, and where its approval stands.
- A panel sketch with image width, height and quantity for each canvas.
- Stretched, framed or rolled for each canvas.
- Your Doha address, or the mailing address the organizer sends by email.
- The date the canvas must be ready.
Studio order & delivery terms
- Made by hand
- Painted directly on premium linen, with no printed base. Acrylic is standard; oil is available on request. One painter takes each canvas from the first marks to the last.
- One piece or a collection
- Orders start at one painting, with quantity tiers from 6 and 21 pieces. Mixed designs count together. A sample is a separate single-piece order, priced on its own and not credited against a later order.
- Rolled, stretched or framed
- You choose the image width and height. Suitable rolled work includes an extra 5 cm of blank canvas on every side for stretching or framing. Please mention a larger allowance before production. Heavy texture should travel stretched or framed.
- A complete delivery quote
- Your quote sets out the artwork, presentation and delivery charges. We work with more than 200 logistics partners to compare express and sea options. Most destinations are served on DDP terms, with exceptions where local customs rules require another arrangement. The quote states the delivery terms for Qatar.
- Time for each stage
- Painting, your review, transport and any local framing are separate stages. Rush production can be requested, and we confirm a feasible date for the actual order.
- Payment
- Usually a 50% deposit, with the balance after final approval and before shipping.
06 / From the organizer's FAQ
What the rules mean for a painted photo, an AI image or a sale at QIAF
Does QIAF accept photographers as individual artists?
Yes, QIAF's application page names photographers, alongside painters, sculptors and mixed-media artists, in its Individual Artist Application, though the 2026 registration date of 15 September has passed. If your place is confirmed, decide whether your panel will show prints or a painted version of your photo. For a painted version, a portrait crop makes the most of the panel's 2.44 m height.
My Doha photo shows the FIFA World Cup logo. Can the painting leave it out?
Yes, we can paint the scene without the logo, and the QIAF organizer's FAQ excludes the FIFA World Cup logo from exhibited work. Tell us what should fill that area, such as plain fabric, sky or wall, so the painter is not guessing. Send the organizer that version of the image for pre-approval.
I chose QIAF's exhibition-only option. What if a canvas cannot reach Qatar by 31 October?
The organizer's FAQ also accepts digital submission for the exhibition-only option, so a couriered canvas is not the only route. If 31 October is not realistic for your canvas, discuss the digital route with the organizer.
Can a collector pay for my painted canvas at the QIAF venue?
Yes, the QIAF organizer's FAQ says a POS terminal for payments is available at the venue, and you collect the proceeds of each sale. On the label, describe the canvas as acrylic on linen, or oil on linen if you chose oil, hand-painted by a studio from your own image. If the organizer sets a labeling format, it should come with the guidelines due before 30 November.
Can I order the canvas rolled and have it stretched in Doha?
Yes, the QIAF organizer says in its FAQ that it can suggest framing shops in Doha, so you can plan stretching there before handover. The same FAQ offers paid stretching at the venue in its answer for artists who bring rolled paintings from abroad, so ask the organizer whether that applies to you. Suitable rolled work has an extra 5 cm of blank canvas on every side. For example, a 110 cm wide image travels as a 120 cm wide canvas. Once stretched, the image is still 110 cm wide, inside the 1.22 m panel. If you want it ready to hang on 4 December, it can also ship stretched from us.
Can you paint my AI-generated image for a QIAF panel?
Yes, we can paint it, and the QIAF organizer's FAQ excludes material that uses someone else's copyright, so the image must be yours to use. It should not copy another artist's work, a logo or a brand. When you ask for pre-approval, tell the organizer how the image was made and that our studio paints it. Before you send it to us, look closely at faces, hands and small details, where AI images can go wrong. Our AI image to painting guide explains the rest.
Pre-approved, then painted
The version the organizer approved is the one we paint
Share the approved file with your panel sketch, and we paint from it at the sizes you drew.
Planning for the next edition? QIAF was held at Katara Halls, Building 12, in December 2025. Check the organizer's new FAQ for panel size and dates before you size a canvas.
Our fastest way to discuss your schedule and price. The written quote follows by email for your records.
WhatsApp: usually an immediate reply.
Email: usually within 12 hours. Monday–Sunday.
support@palettemomento.comOr use our written quote form.