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Housed in a former fire station, this gallery is now a go-to spot for artists and art lovers.
Abutting Doha’s central Al Bidda Park, the Fire Station Gallery was built in 1982 and used as a fire station for over thirty years. In December of 2012, the last fire engine was removed, and the space became part of the Qatar Museums network. Converted into a contemporary art space, the gallery showcases art and artists, engages the local community, and nurtures emerging talent through its artist in residence program.
Fire station Gallery is adjacent to Al-Bidda Park and can be reached by car or taxi.
Get directions: Click here
Corniche station, Red line, is the nearest metro station.
The Fire Station Gallery has a raw, industrial style, which offers a contrast with the original honeycomb façade, which has been retained from the building’s days as home of the civil defence authority. In this regard, the structure delivers on “Bringing the Past into the Future”.
Garage Gallery features a rotating series of exhibitions, and has no permanent collection. To mark the Qatar-France Year of Culture, a Qatar Museums initiative to promote conversations and the sharing of art and culture with a specific country every year, Fire Station is hosting Picasso’s Studios. The exhibit takes visitors on a visual journey through the artist’s work spaces and the art produced therein. In 2019, KAWS: He Eats Alone showed paintings and sculptures from artist Brian Donnelly’s 20-year career.
Previous exhibits include the Russian Avant-Garde as well as Picasso-Giacometti. The latter brought together over 120 paintings, sculptures, sketches and photographs, as well as interviews with the artists.
Fire Station has an Artist in Residence progamme for Qatar-based artists. The annual nine-month residency programme provides studio space, mentorship, and access to curators. Residencies are also available in New York and Paris.
Showing the intertwining of art and politics, look no further than the five murals making up “100 days blockade”. These offer an artistic take on the blockade Qatar. If all that art makes inspires hunger, head to Café #999, which serves up healthy dishes made from locally sourced ingredients.
Qatar Museums was keen to preserve the original façade, hence much of the building was kept intact.
Al Bidda Park also known as Al Rumaila Park, overlooks Doha’s central waterfront promenade, the Corniche. The nearby Museum of Islamic Art lets visitors continue to soak up history and art. For a more rounded sensory experience, head to Souq Waqif, the central market built on the site of an ancient trading bazaar. Teeming with shops, galleries and eateries, this invites visitors to lose themselves in its winding alleys, exploring the souvenirs and antiques. The refurbished Mshereib Downtown is next to Souq Waqif, as are the Mshereib Museums.
Our historic heritage houses in the heart of Msheireb Downtown Doha examine the history of Doha.
The internationally renowned Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is the crown jewel of Qatar’s museums.
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