Jameel Arts Centre

The Jameel Arts Centre opened in 2018 on the Jaddaf waterfront as one of the first independent contemporary art institutions in the country, and its entry is free. Serie Architects arranged it as a set of white boxes around planted courtyards, with a research library, artists' studios and a bookshop, and a garden of desert plants runs along the creek outside. The programme mixes the Art Jameel collection with commissioned work, much of it from the region and South Asia.

What you actually see

• The courtyard plan - gallery boxes arranged around planted internal courts.
• The Jaddaf Waterfront Sculpture Park - work sited along the creek outside.
• The desert garden - a planted strip of arid-climate species along the water.
• The library and studios - the research collection and working artists' spaces.

When to go

October to May for the outdoor parts; galleries are air conditioned year round. It closes on Tuesdays. Exhibition changeovers can leave galleries shut, so checking ahead helps.

Honest expectations

It is small and two hours covers it comfortably. Between exhibitions parts of the building close. The waterfront around it is still under construction in places.

Nearby

Ras Al Khor is south, and Al Fahidi is northwest.