Wael Shawky Appointed Artistic Director of Fire Station: Artist in Residence in Qatar
Wael Shawky, an Egyptian artist currently featured at the 60th Venice Biennale, is set to take on the role of artistic director at Fire Station: Artist in Residence in Qatar starting November 5, 2024. Established in 2015 and redesigned by architect Ibrahim Mohamed Jaidah, this facility provides a nine-month residency for artists, having hosted over 90 creatives and expanding its initiatives to Paris and New York. It includes studios, a theater, Café #999, a bookstore, and gallery spaces. Notable exhibitions have showcased works by Pipilotti Rist and Virgil Abloh. Shawky, recognized for his video Drama 1882, founded MASS Alexandria in 2010 and is dedicated to supporting Arab artists and working with Qatar Museums.
Key facts
- Wael Shawky appointed artistic director of Fire Station: Artist in Residence in Qatar starting November 5, 2024.
- Fire Station founded in 2015 in a former fire station renovated by Ibrahim Mohamed Jaidah.
- Residency program lasts nine months for creatives of all disciplines.
- Over 90 artists hosted in the past six years.
- Program includes three-month periods at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and Studio 209 in New York (ISCP).
- Facility includes studios, theater, Café #999, bookstore, art supply shop, and gallery spaces.
- Garage Gallery hosted exhibitions by Pipilotti Rist, Virgil Abloh, Picasso, KAWS (curated by Germano Celant), and others.
- Shawky represents Egypt at the 60th Venice Biennale with video Drama 1882.
- Shawky founded MASS Alexandria in 2010, an independent non-profit art school in Egypt.
- Shawky collaborates with Lia Rumma gallery in Italy.
Entities
Artists
- Wael Shawky
- Ibrahim Mohamed Jaidah
- Pipilotti Rist
- Virgil Abloh
- KAWS
- Germano Celant
Institutions
- Fire Station: Artist in Residence
- Qatar Museums
- Cité Internationale des Arts
- International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP)
- Tate Modern
- Kunsthaus Bregenz
- MoMA
- Serpentine Gallery
- The Hammer
- Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
- MASS Alexandria
- Lia Rumma
- Artribune
Locations
- Qatar
- Alexandria
- Philadelphia
- Paris
- New York
- Venice
- Istanbul
- Sharjah
- Gwangju
- Santa Fe