MATAF MUSEUM

Located near the National Library, invisible from the main road and hard to find, the Arab Museum of Modern Art is nestled in Education City. The Emir's Palace lies a few kilometers away, holding the ruins of the Al Wajbah fort where the Turks were defeated. A school, it is said, rather a hangar, has been delivered to the expert pencil of a world-renowned specialist, the "renovator" Bodin, architect-transformer of numerous museums in search of a new lease of life, the Matisse in Nice, the Granet in Aix, the Picasso, the city's Museum of Modern Art, Pompidou in Paris. A paragon of fluidity and clarity, Jean-François Bodin told the Journal des Arts: "Nothing is monolithic any more, we're clearly moving away from a linear context and entering a system of networks Enter this temple of fresh whiteness, in contrast to the burning dust outside, and discover, through temporary exhibitions and Sheikh Hassan's collection, some admirable aspects of the Qatari rulers' arty tropism. The collection comprises 9,000 canvases and works of modern art collected over the last 30 years from all over the Middle East. Most of the paintings are from Iraq and Lebanon, dating from the 1950s to the 1980s, with some from Morocco, but very few Qatari works. The store is well-stocked, but you'll find the same items as at the IMA. The cafeteria is pleasant, with a small outdoor terrace.