Doha's Museum of Islamic Art makes shortlist for 'Oscars for museums'

Step aside Louvre, you ain't got nothing on the Middle East!

While that might be a slight exaggeration, Doha's Museum of Islamic Art  has made the shortlist for the Leading Cultural Destinations Awards 2015 while the Louvre – and other traditionally prominent museums – is noticeably absent.

MIA has been shortlisted for the Architecture and Spatial Design for the prestigious awards. In the Best Emerging Cultural Destinations category for the Middle East, the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, the Oman National Museum in Muscat, the Dubai Moving Image Museum, the Design Museum Holon in Israel and the Salsali Private Museum in Dubai have all made the shortlist.

The awards are divided into six categories: Exhibitions and Programming, Architecture and Spatial Design, Digital Experience, Eat and Drink, Shop, the Best Emerging Cultural Destinations, which is subdivided by global regions, the Best Emerging City for Culture and the Best Art Experience in a Hotel.

According to the LCD website, the awards "celebrate the vibrancy and vitality of museums around the world, which are changing fast. Today cultural destinations are not only for art experiences and education; they have become social hubs for visitors to spend time, dine, shop, work and even sleep!"

Here is the complete shortlist:

• Tate Modern, London (UK)
• Museum of Modern Art, New York (U.S.)
• Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)
• New Museum, New York (U.S.)
• Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)

• Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France)
• Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao (Spain)
• State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (Russia)
• Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (Qatar) 
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (U.S.)

• Tate Modern, London (UK)
• Museum of Modern Art, New York (U.S.)
• Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)
• Getty Center, Los Angeles (U.S.)
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (U.S.)

• Centre Pompidou, Paris (France)
• Tate Modern, London (UK)
• Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)
• Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)
• Somerset House, London (UK)

• Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)
• Museum of Modern Art, New York (U.S.)
• Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)
• Tate Modern, London (UK)
• Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris (France)

• Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, (Qatar)
• Oman National Museum, Muscat (Oman)
• Design Museum, Holon (Israel)
• Dubai Moving Image Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
• Salsali Private Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

• La Colombe d'Or, Saint-Paul-de-Vence (France)
• Gramercy Park Hotel, New York (U.S.)
• Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resort, Rome (Italy)
• Gladstone Hotel, Toronto (Canada)
• Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai (China)
• Palace Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

• Manchester (UK)
• Oslo (Norway)
• Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
• Mexico City (Mexico)
• Venice (Italy)