We love Doha’s bustling art scene, and pop-up exhibitions make for the perfect weekend browse. Agreed? Mark your calendars.

Have you noticed? Doha is rapidly turning into a haven for art enthusiasts, courtesy of a revolving door of art exhibitions and cultural pop-ups. It gives us the chance to explore ideas, experience the minds of artists, challenge our notions, and create our own interpretations. Below, we’ve rounded up the exhibitions you need to catch circa now.

Splendours of the Ancient East: Antiquities from The al-Sabah Collection
National Museum of Qatar
October 3, 2020 – January 3, 2021
In celebration of the deep-rooted and unique relationship that Qatar shares with Kuwait, Qatar Museums features a selection of artefacts made to celebrate the ingenious creativity of artists from the Ancient Near East. A continuity of certain themes can be observed from the artefacts within the region, including the stylisation of animal motifs, a taste for carved hardstones and the influence of the nomadic tribes from central Asia. Treasures such as these remain hallmarks of Islamic art, even to the present day, and are displayed at the National Museum of Qatar.
GO: Visit https://nmoq.org.qa/ for more information.

Focus – Works from Mathaf Collection
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art August
2 – November 30, 2020
A part of the Focus: Works from Mathaf Collection series, this exhibition showcases works of artists, intellectuals, journalists, and cultural activists who played a major role in Doha’s cultural scene for more than half a century. It documents the experiences and knowledge of those generations as well as highlights the work of key artists of the past and present through paintings, photography, video, and installations.
GO: Visit https://visit.qm.org.qa/arab-museum-of-modernart#tkttb-exhibition to book your tickets.

Yto Barrada’s Exhibition
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
August 2 – November 30, 2020
Moroccan-French artist Yto Barrada’s exhibition showcases photographs, films, videos, sculptures, prints, and fabric works that focus on “threads of regeneration and growth in social and geological transformation”. The works highlight the importance of the vernacular in processes of decomposition and revival, drawing on histories of nation building and postindependence strategies of resistance in social and domestic life. An award-winning artist who has also held numerous solo exhibitions internationally, artist Yto’s work engages with self-education, architecture, palaeontology, botany, and modernist histories in order to explore forms of knowledge production.
GO: Visit https://visit.qm.org.qa/arab-museum-of-modernart#tkttb-exhibition to book your tickets.

Untitled, 1968. Huguette Caland, Oil on Linen, 99.7 x 99.1 cm.

Huguette Caland: Faces And Places
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
August 2 – November 30, 2020
Faces and Places is Huguette Caland’s largest museum exhibition to date, featuring six decades of her paintings, drawings, caftans, smocks, and sculptures. This exhibition explores a journey that spans three continents, encompassing the faces and places that inform her rich oeuvre without losing sight of the predominant theme in her work, the line.
GO: Visit https://visit.qm.org.qa/arab-museum-of-modernart#tkttb-exhibition to book your tickets.

The Bisht Maker, 1965. Abdelwahed al-Mawlawi, Oil on Canvas, 130 x 94 cm.

Lived Forward: Art and Culture In Doha From 1960- 2020
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
August 2 – November 30, 2020
This exhibition looks at reference points of generations of artists, intellectuals, and cultural activists who played a major role in activating the cultural scene in Doha for more than half a century. Making connections between art histories and the museum’s collection, the show presents the work of key artists and figures through the display of paintings, archival materials, photography, video, and installation that survey the development of modern and contemporary art and cultural practices in Qatar. Lived Forward is part of the series entitled Focus: Works from Mathaf Collection. The show will focus on the following artists: Saleh Taher, Faiq Hassan, Gazbia Sirry, Adam Henein, Ibrahim Al Salahi, Khalifa Al Qattan, Jassim Zaini, Dia Azzawi, Abdulwahid Al Mawlawi, Hassan Al Mulla, Youssef Ahmad, Wafika Sultan Al Essa, Faraj Daham, Mohammed Ali Abdulah, Saif Al Kuwari, Ali Hassan, Salman Al Malik, Hassan bin Mohammed Al Thani, Wafa Al Hamed, Aisha Al Misned, Sophia Al Maria, Bouthayna Al Muftah, Sara Al Obaidly.
GO: Visit https://visit.qm.org.qa/arab-museum-of-modernart#tkttb-exhibition to book your tickets.

A Falcon’s Eye Exhibition
Museum of Islamic Art
August 2, 2020 – January 2, 2021
A tribute to Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani, this exhibition will run at The Museum of Islamic Arts until January 2021. Sheikh Saoud is considered one of Qatar’s greatest collectors, largely responsible for laying the foundation for the world-class collections at Qatar Museums. Chairperson of Qatar Museums, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani once said that Sheikh Saoud’s love for arts was limitless, adding that he was also committed to developing the country’s cultural and educational resources in order to serve society. This particular exhibition will showcase more than 300 of his outstanding artworks, ranging from prehistoric fossils and Egyptian antiquities to Orientalist paintings and masterpieces of the history of photography in a spectacular display following the concept of ancient (Renaissance) “cabinet of curiosities” reflecting Sheikh Saoud’s fascination with both natural history and art.
GO: Visit www.qm.org.qa/en for more information.

Breaking News? How the Smartphone Changed Journalism
The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar
September 13 – August 13, 2020

If you’re more of a technology buff, then you have to drop by the Media Majlis. This interactive exhibition space brings people together using the latest digital technologies to challenge standard narratives and provide 360-degree views on global, regional, and local stories. Engage in thrilling conversations about the role of the mobile phone and how it has and will continue to alter the course of today’s media landscape.
GO: Visit https://mediamajlis.northwestern.edu/en for more information.

Courtesy of The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar