Under the patronage of its chairperson, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar Museums’ (QM) Fire Station opened the doors of its studios in Doha on Saturday evening.
The initiative offers the public the opportunity to go behind the scenes at “one of the country’s most innovative arts programmes for the creative generation”, QM has said in a press statement.
The four-hour open evening, which was organised as part of the Fire Station: Artist in Residence programme, gave visitors the chance to explore the Fire Station’s facilities and studios, meet the 20 talented artists in residence, which includes 10 Qataris, and talk to them about their works and inspiration.
Artists currently enrolled in the programme have works ranging from photography and videography to graphic design, painting and poetry.
This is the second open evening organised by Qatar Museums during this residency.  
Khalifa al-Obaidli, director of the Fire Station, said: “Our open studio nights are a reoccurring success thanks to the high levels of interest and engagement received from the local community.
The Doha Fire Station sits at the heart of Doha’s flourishing art community, and the open evening allows for the public to meet and interact with artists of all disciplines and engage in a dialogue that I hope will inspire a creative generation in Qatar.”
Qatar Museums’ Fire Station Artist in Residence programme runs in nine-month cycles and aims to create a space that “offers a local approach to creativity and artistic production for both local Qatari artists and residents of Qatar”, the statement notes.
During the nine-month residency, artists across all disciplines receive production support, mentorships and curatorial advice, enabling them to develop their artistic talent. At the end of the cycle, artists’ accomplishments are celebrated in an end-of-residency exhibition held at the Garage Gallery in the Fire Station, which showcases selected works from each of the artists.