The tense standoff with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt is putting as deep a strain on the Persian Gulf nation’s efforts to become a cultural capital as it is on the rest of the country. Even so, work continues: as one arts professional in Doha puts it, “If political relations were severed for any period of time, the close family connections across the region would act as a continued link. … At the moment, everything is continuing as normal.”