Years of Culture
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2024/09/19
The Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq exclusively houses temporary exhibitions. Some of the world’s most iconic and celebrated modern artists have had their work exhibited in the art space.
The vast 3,500 square metre exhibition space is a blank canvas for local and visiting curators to create ambitious, high calibre modern art exhibitions in Qatar.
It is the ideal exhibition space for a retrospective or large-scale art show and many key Years of Culture activations and events have been held at Al Riwaq since the initiative began in 2012.
The Qatar Museums Gallery is located just in front of MIA Park, in the grounds of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). Set in a separate building a few steps from the popular museum, many people combine a visit to both Al Riwaq and MIA.
With an ever-rotating series of exhibitions, visitors are advised to check the museum website for the latest art events before visiting.
New for 2023, Dan Flavin / Donald Judd: Doha is an exciting partnership between QM Gallery – Al Riwaq and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This landmark exhibition was curated as part of the legacy of the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture, and is the artists’ largest ever show outside of the USA and the first exhibition of its kind in the MENA region.
Visitors can experience almost 60 works by American minimalists Dan Flavin (1933–1996) and Donald Judd (1928–1994), from every stage of their careers. The highly anticipated exhibition was curated by Michael Govan and Jennifer King at LACMA.
Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq has gained an international reputation for outstanding exhibitions. The cultural legacy of many past events is significant, and the gallery’s most popular exhibitions from the past decade are still talked about today.
Part of the ambitious expansion project from Qatar Museums Authority, a new museum by acclaimed architects Herzog & de Meuron is set to open in 2024. Detailed plans for the new museum were unveiled to the public for the first time at Al Riwaq, during the
Lusail Museum - Tales of a Connected World exhibition in Doha.
The exhibition, which opened during the Qatar-MENASA 2022 Year of Culture, walked visitors through plans for the new museum, and its world-class collection of artefacts and Orientalist art spanning centuries of the region’s history.
Among many unforgettable exhibitions in Doha the Qatar-USA 2021 Year of Culture launched a marvellous retrospective exhibition by American artist Jeff Koons.
Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Jeff Koons - Lost in America was the world-famous artist’s first ever exhibition in the region and provided a sensational overview of his unique and impressive 40-year career so far.
An immersive self-portrait of the artist’s life and wider American culture, the exhibition was based on Koons’ autobiography. The vast scale of Al Riwaq provided the perfect backdrop to the visual artists’ surreal, oversized sculptures and paintings, which bridge genres from Pop art to minimalism and the readymade. Download the exhibition guide and read the gallery texts.
Part of the Qatar-Germany 2017 Year of Culture, Al Riwaq’s Driven by German Design was an extensive exploration of Germany’s contribution to global design. Beginning with the 1950s, the exhibition explored the evolution of design in Germany throughout each decade until the present, before looking to the future. Curated by renowned museum director Professor Martin Roth, the exhibition was developed in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group.
The result of a three-year research and development project by curator and artist Cai Guo-Qiang, What About the Art - Contemporary Art from China presented works by 15 influential Chinese artists, in celebration of the Qatar-China 2016 Year of Culture.
The exhibition featured works by Jenova CHEN, HU Xiangqian, HU Zhijun, HUANG Yong Ping, LI Liao, LIANG Shaoji, LIU Wei, LIU Xiaodong, Jennifer Wen MA, SUN Yuan & PENG Yu, WANG Jianwei, XU Bing, XU Zhen, YANG Fudong, and ZHOU Chunya.
Each of the artists and artists collectives were born in Mainland China, and the artworks on display included a range of mediums from paintings and sculpture to immersive installations, video, performance art and more.
The acclaimed closing event of the Qatar-Brazil 2014 Year of Culture, Here and There Contemporary Art Exhibition at QM Gallery Al Riwaq displayed artworks from both countries alongside one another, building a visual dialogue between Qatar (here) and Brazil (there).
The exhibition focused on social, cultural and environmental experiences in both countries, through the art of specially selected emerging artists.
The local Qatari works were curated by Alanoud Al-Buainain and Khalifa Al-Obaidly. The artworks from Brazil were co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Serpentine Gallery and Gunnar B. Kvaran from Oslo’s Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, alongside Thierry Raspail, director of the Musée d’art Contemporain in Lyon.
Damien Hirst - Relics was another major solo exhibition at Al Riwaq, and the artist’s debut in the MENA region, curated by Francesco Bonami as part of the Qatar-Uk 2013 Year of Culture.
Some of the most instantly recognisable works on display included Hirst’s Natural History series of animals preserved in formaldehyde and ‘For the Love of God’ (2007), the diamond covered skull.
Gallery Al Riwaq was the perfect setting for Ego by Takashi Murakami, a playful retrospective of the Japanese artist’s career during the Qatar-Japan 2012 Year of Culture.
Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, the exhibition was the largest ever collection of Murakami’s work in one place. Ego brought together over 60 pieces loaned from international galleries, private collections and several original pieces commissioned especially for the occasion, all showing for the first time in the Middle East.
Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq is a must-see museum for modern art in Doha. It is free to enter the museum for all residents and visitors and opening hours may vary.
See what’s on at Qatar Museums and reserve your tickets for the latest Gallery Al Riwaq exhibition online. Contact the museum directly by email customerservice@qm.org.qa or phone +974 4422 4100.
Explore more of the best museums to visit in Doha with Years of Culture, from the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art to the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ).
