ontreal, Canada/Doha, Qatar: For the second year running, Qatar’s Years of Culture initiative has teamed up with Pierre Gasly of the BWT Alpine F1Team to bring contemporary art into the high-speed world of Formula One. The concept revolves around inviting artists from around the world to design helmets for select races, transforming one of the most-watched sporting platforms into a space for cultural storytelling.
At the upcoming Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, Gasly will debut a helmet designed by Qatari artist Ghada Al Suwaidi—a layered work that reflects her signature style: playful, culturally rooted, and unmistakably contemporary. The helmet marks the opening of this year’s creative series and highlights Qatar’s commitment to elevating emerging voices on international stages. Further artist collaborations are planned for races in Mexico City and Doha, extending the initiative’s global reach across the Qatar Canada and Mexico 2026 Year of Culture.
A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Al Suwaidi has built a practice that moves easily between large-scale murals, illustration, and digital work. Her projects often draw on everyday life in Qatar, from nostalgia, neighbourhoods, to shared visual memories, reinterpreted through bold colour and contemporary form. She’s previously contributed to international platforms like the World Wide Walls Street art festival and national initiatives including Posts of Qatar, bringing local narratives into public space.
Her design for Gasly’s Montreal helmet reflects this multidisciplinary approach, translating her distinctive visual language into a new medium that will be seen by millions of fans worldwide. Translating that language onto a Formula 1® helmet, a compact, highly technical object seen by millions, adds a new layer of complexity. But it also reinforces the point of collaboration: culture is everything.
Al Suwaidi explained her excitement about being part of the project, “I’ve followed this collaboration since the beginning, so being part of it feels a bit surreal. What excites me most is the scale—knowing something so personal will be seen by millions, in a completely unexpected setting. A helmet moves so fast, but I hope it still makes people pause, even for a second, and wonder about the story behind it. That moment of curiosity is where connection starts. It reminds us that creativity, nature, and visual language are things we all share, no matter where we’re from.”
For the Qatar Grand Prix later this year, Gasly will wear two additional helmets designed by artists from Canada and Mexico, aligning with the three-country partnership and reinforcing the initiative’s emphasis on shared storytelling and cultural exchange across borders.
The collaboration underscores how Years of Culture continues to harness sport as a powerful platform for cultural diplomacy, connecting audiences beyond traditional cultural spaces and introducing new voices through unexpected and high-profile moments. By integrating artistic expression into global sporting events, the initiative creates opportunities for artists to engage with international audiences while reinforcing the role of creativity in building lasting human connections.
