Fire Station offers a range of exciting opportunities for artists and curators. Participants are selected through an open call application process with an esteemed jury selecting the artists.
The Artist in Residence (AIR) past programme was launched in 2015 as a nine-month programme for artists living and working in Qatar. The AIR programme offered each artist a private studio space, production support, mentorship, visiting critics, and curatorial support, enabling artists to develop their creative practice.
In 2017, Fire Station began sponsoring Qatari artists, including children of Qatari mothers, to participate in an international residency programme at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris, France. A year later, Fire Station began selecting Qatari artists to participate in the residency programme in New York City at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP).
Fire Station launched the Curatorial Residency programme in 2020, where two curators are selected to be in residence at Fire Station through an Open Call process.
In 2021, Fire Station began running the first edition of its Ruwad in Residence programme, a programme in support of Qatar-based established artists. This initiative brings Qatari artists Wafika Sultan Al-Essa and Hassan Al-Mulla, who have been in residence at Fire Station for two years, from 2021 to 2022. Ruwad in Residence is a continuation of the residency at Fire Station that supported Qatari artist Faraj Daham from 2017 to 2020. It ensures Fire Station's connection to local artists of different career levels to create an exchange between the established artists and the local artists participating in the AIR programme.
In 2025, the Artist in Residence (AIR) programme evolved into the Artists Intensive Study Programme (AISP) under the leadership of Artistic Director Wael Shawky.
The programme represents a transformative, fully funded programme designed for 20 emerging Qatari and international visual artists annually. The programme offers an intensive, interdisciplinary environment where artists refine technical skills, deepen conceptual approaches, and expand their artistic practices.
Aisha Al-Muhannadi, Artist in Residence 2019-20.
Aisha Al-Fadhala, Artist in Residence 2017-18.
Fahad Al-Obaidly, Artist in Residence 2016-17.
Sebastián Betancur-Montoya, Artist in Residence 2015-16.
Jesse Payne, Artist in Residence, 2018-19.
Hassan Manasrah, Artist in Residence 2018-19.
Artist in Residence (AIR) Programme
Curator in Residence Programme
Ruwad in Residence Programme
Visiting Artist Programme
Paris International Residency
New York International Residency
Our Artists In Residence