8 art exhibitions to visit in Doha

The past decade has seen a blossoming of Qatar's art scene, with prestigious artists from around the world and right here in Qatar bringing their art to be exhibited and enjoyed.

If you want to explore contemporary art from Qatar and around the world for yourself, be sure to visit at least a couple of these exhibitions around the city.

8. Strength and Convergence

The Strength and Convergence Exhibition By Juan Arel Ruiz Contino is presented by the Cultural Village Foundation - Katara, in cooperation with the Embassy of Cuba in Qatar.

Contino’s paintings are focused on falcons and Arabian horses, as he was inspired by these two dominant animals in Qatar. The exhibition consists of 12 paintings, which are mostly inspired by Qatari heritage.

“Through my participation in the ‘S’hail’ international falconry festival last November, I got to see those amazing birds closely and decided to use them in my paintings for their meaningful characteristics,” Contino explained at the opening ceremony.

Where: Katara, Building 19, Gallery 2

Timings: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

Runs till: March 30th

7. Art and Calligraphy Exhibition

The Art & Calligraphy Exhibition By Murat Kurt is presented by Cultural Village Foundation - Katara. Kurt is a Qatar-based visual artist specializing in calligraphy.

Where: Katara, Building 18, Gallery 2

Timings: 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Runs till: March 30th

6. Connected, A Solo Exhibition

This exhibition, presented by the Cultural Village Foundation - Katara, is mainly inspired by studies of the whirling dervish as a subject. Black and white and simple colors are used in the collection showing the simplicity of the subject.

The artist, Shahida Ahmed, is an award-winning multi-media artist from the United Kingdom who explores and celebrates a broad spectrum of history, cultures and diversity in her work. Her inspirations are mainly derived from exploring traditional Islamic concepts and influences – a modern interpretation and sharing the results with a new audience. Rhythm and movement play an important part in her sculptures, paintings and installations, as do shapes, geometry and calligraphy.

This collection is inspired by her travels and poetry by Rumi it explores and underpins simplicity in color and subject.

Shahida recently decided to change the signature on her art to the simple and anonymous pronoun ‘She’, to denote, she says, ‘a woman, no faith, color or culture’, whose art is there to be interpreted freely by all.

Where: Katara, Building 19, Gallery 1

Timings: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

Runs till: March 29th

5. Imaginary Motifs by Abdulla Al Kuwari

The exhibition marks Qatari artist Abdulla Al Kuwari’s official return to Qatar’s art scene since completing the Fire Station’s Paris Residency Programme at the renowned Cité Internationale des Arts, one of the most prestigious art residencies in the world. The pieces highlighted at the exhibition showcase Abdulla’s experimentation with motifs and reflect his experience in Paris.

Where: Workshop No. 3 – Fire Station: Artist in Residence

Timings: Saturday - Thursday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm; Friday 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Runs till: April 3rd

4. Laundromat By Ai Wei Wei

Ai Weiwei’s Laundromat is a travelling installation that brings the current European migrant crisis into sharp focus. It is the world renowned artist’s first official exhibition in Qatar.

The work is centered around a vast makeshift camp near the village of Idomeni, on the border with the Republic of Macedonia. As part of his recently released documentary Human Flow, Ai Weiwei has borne witness to the brutal plight of refugees worldwide. Therefore when the Idomeni camp was shut down in May 2016, and the thousands of refugees were displaced, Ai Weiwei and his team reverently collected, washed and organized the possessions they haphazardly left behind in an effort to preserve their tumultuous experience.

Meticulously organized, the thousands of clothing items and accessories together with photographs and video are a moving and tactile testament to this international humanitarian emergency.

Working in a wide range of media from architecture to social media, Ai Weiwei is renowned for elevating art practice into a call for action on major geopolitical issues impacting global communities.

This exhibition focuses on the global refugee crisis and presents several efforts made by the artist to highlight the plight of the refugees, inspired by the journey @aiweiwei took to 40 refugee camps across 23 countries while filming his documentary feature Human Flow.

Where: Fire Station: Artist in Residence

Timings: 8:00 am - 11:00 pm

Runs till: June 1st

3. ‘Mari Evans: Carl Pope’ Art Exhibition


The Gallery at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCU arts Qatar) is hosting the art exhibition: ‘Mari Evans: Carl Pope’ that will focus on the works of Indianapolis-based poet and artist Mari Evans.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Mari Evans

One of the founders of the Black Arts Movement and a long-time Indianapolis resident, Evans published her first work ‘Where Is All the Music’ in 1968 followed by ‘I Am a Black Woman’ in 1970. During this time, she also worked as a producer, writer, and director of ‘The Black Experience’ (1968-1973) — a history documentary that aired on primetime in Indianapolis.

The exhibit will feature a commissioned text-based piece by artist Carl Pope related to Evans’s book of essays, ‘Clarity as Concept: A Poet’s Perspective’. It will also feature photographs and video from The Black Experience television program provided by Evans.

Carl Pope

Carl Pope’s artistic practice is committed to the idea of art as a catalyst for individual and collective transformation/s. His multi-media installations were exhibited at prestigious venues. Since 1990, Pope’s methodology with public art evolved in ongoing collaborations with artists and communities, producing large-scale public art inventions that stimulate public dialogue and/or community revitalization.

Where: The Gallery at VCUarts Qatar


Timings: Saturday to Thursday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, closed on Friday

Runs till: April 14th

2. Emotions: IAD Annual Exhibition

“IAD exhibition “Emotions” undertakes the journey into the inner worlds of ourselves. Reflections, energies and feelings are brought out to the open, the artist thus becoming an interpreter between the inside and outside worlds.”

International Artists Doha (IAD) was formed in 2011 by two Dutch artists, namely Winnifred Bastian and Marjolijn Stolk. IAD was conceptualized as a non-profit organization for national as well as international artists living and working in Doha. The group provides its members with a platform for sharing experiences in the sense of learning from one another and for interacting with other artists from around the globe.

IAD cooperates with and engages itself in local community initiatives. Recent examples for this are artwork with patients of “Bayt Aman”, teaching of staff as part of the well-being program of the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), planned elaboration of around 60 art works for the public spaces in the three new HMC hospitals (Women's Wellness and Research Center, Qatar Rehabilitation Institute and the Ambulatory Care Center), painting with children groups at the Qatar National Library, painting with the public at Msheireb and the Sheikh Faisal Museum and organizing workshops at the Museum of Islamic Art to name just a few.

Once a year, IAD showcases its members’ artworks to the public by organizing an exhibition accompanied by live painting and workshops. 

Where: Art 29, W Doha Hotel

Timings: 9:00 am - 7:00 pm

Runs till: April 10th

1. Earth Tones

As part of the hotel’s ongoing commitment to support local artists, Grand Hyatt Doha Hotel & Villas is exhibiting “Earth Tones” by local artist Jacinthe Lamontagne-Lecomte.

The “Earth Tones” collection is the perfect complement to the hotel’s Isaan restaurant, which prides itself on taking guests on a journey of the relatively unexplored Thai region. The exhibition showcases the people met during Ms. Lamontagne-Lecomte’s time in Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, India, China and Malaysia.

Part of the Hyatt Thrive project, ‘The Corridor’ was an initiative launched by Grand Hyatt Doha in 2015, to offer a unique, public, gallery space for locally based artists who wish to exhibit their work to Doha residents as well as international visitors.

For the collection, Ms. Lamontagne-Lecomte used photo transfer with mixed media on canvas. This type of artwork begins as a photograph from which the artist adds a variety of materials to create interesting textures and colours and in some cases, completely transforms the original subject. “The materials I use in my art vary. I’ll use really anything from paint, newspaper, ink and gesso to silk wax, foil paper, oil and even coffee.”

Where: ‘The Corridor’ on the ground floor of the Grand Hyatt

Runs till: April 5th