Qatar Museums Authority
Richard Serra was commissioned by the Qatar Museums Authority to create the "7" sculpture based on the personal recommendation of I.M.Pei – the architect who built the adjacent Museum of Islamic Art. According to Pei, he wanted an artist that would complement the museum and, “connect the aesthetic content of the museum to the possibility of building a public space for the people. The project took around three years between the first contact between Serra and Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (Chair of the Qatar Museums Authority) and the actual unveiling in December 2011, and around one year in the construction phase.