Fire Station & Garage Gallery
One of the most fascinating aspects of this relatively young country is its royal family’s dedication to contemporary art, architecture & culture.
Over the years I have seen some outstanding exhibitions there: a Takashi Murakami exhibit at QM Gallery, occupying 25,000 square feet, including a football field sized inside space with huge tents that visitors could explore, and a show at Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art, that had a room with a dhow floating in it. ‘Inconspicuous’ is not in Qatar’s vocabulary.
The Fire Station I went to see, is a more recent addition to Qatar’s burgeoning art scene. Built in 1982–ancient in Qatar time–it housed the fire brigade until 2012, when Qatar Museums took it under its wing. Today, the Fire Station has become a bustling creative hub with artist studios, galleries and an art supply store. Annual artist residencies are available for 20 local artists.
The Garage Gallery is a 7500 square foot exhibition space on the ground level of the Fire Station. I saw Ai Weiwei’s show ‘Laundromat’ there, featuring hundreds of shoes and clothing items abandoned at a makeshift refugee camp in Greece; Ai Weiwei’s first ever exhibition in the Gulf.
Qatar vibrates, hustles and takes chances–go see for yourself!
>>>A heartfelt shukraan شكرا to the Qatar Tourism Authority and our knowledgeable and amazing guides for 4 unforgettable days in Qatar. #visitqatar @visitqatar #ourqatar
