A school reborn: Inside Doha’s new exhibition space

Welcome to AL-MONITOR Doha.

Qatar Preparatory School has been closed since 2008. This week, it reopens —  and it is worth the trip. Across Doha, the calendar fills out almost on its own: A citywide Thai dining experience unfolds through early May, Eid preparations gather pace at the DECC and Mozart returns to Katara on Friday. It is the kind of week where plans come together without much effort.

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Reve

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Doha's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: ‘Countryside: A Place to Live, Not to Leave’

 Participants visit the Questions Room as part of “Countryside” exhibition 2026, Doha, Qatar. (Photo courtesy of Qatar Museums)

There is a building in the middle of Doha that closed its doors in 2008 and has been sitting quietly ever since. Qatar Preparatory School, a fine piece of 1960s educational architecture and a place where the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani once studied, has reopened as an exhibition venue. The exhibition it now houses, “Countryside: A Place to Live, Not to Leave,” is the first thing to fill those rooms in nearly two decades, and it was worth the wait.

Conceived by AMO, the research arm of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture led by Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal, and presented by Qatar Museums, the exhibition asks a question that sounds simple until you sit with it: What is happening to the 98% of the world’s surface that is not a city? The show spans a geographical arc from South Africa through East Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and all the way to China, tracing how rural life is being reshaped by technology, climate change, food systems, political redesign and the quiet return of people who left. Qatar’s own chapter is also present, covering the country’s food security push since 2017, its mangrove restoration work and the pastoral traditions that preceded both.

The exhibition runs across two venues, with the full presentation at QPS and a companion display at the National Museum of Qatar. Entry to QPS is free. What makes it worth going out of your way for is the building itself as much as the content: The original classrooms have been kept largely intact, two of them converted into reading rooms stocked with research from the project. The last room on the ground floor hands the question back to visitors through AI image-generating stations, which is either the most fitting ending or the most provocative one, depending on where you stand.

Date: April 26

Location: Qatar Preparatory School and National Museum of Qatar

Find more details here.

2. Word on the street: Together at the Table: Thailand & Qatar

A taste of Thailand at Isaan, where authenticity and atmosphere come together on every plate. (Photo courtesy of Hyatt Restaurants)

There is something quietly powerful about a good meal, especially when it is shared. This is the idea behind Together at the Table: Thailand & Qatar, an initiative led by the Royal Thai Embassy that brings a sense of warmth and connection to dining tables across the city. The experience is less about a single destination and more about a collective moment unfolding across 12 Thai restaurants in Doha.

Each restaurant takes the same message and interprets it in its own way. Some offer set menus that feel like a guided journey through Thai flavors; others lean into small gestures such as complimentary dishes or thoughtful touches that turn a regular meal into something more memorable. Whether you find yourself at Benjarong or Saffron, the thread that runs through it all is care. Not the abstract kind, but the kind you notice in the details, in the balance of flavors, in the way a dish arrives at the table.

At its core, it is simple: food as a way to connect, to slow down, to sit across from someone and share something that feels genuine. In a city that moves quickly, this feels like a small but meaningful pause.

Date: April 22 to May 9

Location: Across participating Thai restaurants in Doha

Find more details here.

3. Doha diary

Exterior of the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, a major events venue in Doha, Qatar. (Image courtesy of DECC)

• Tajheezat Eid Al Adha Fair 2026

There is a certain rhythm to the weeks leading up to Eid, and it usually starts with a list that keeps getting longer. Tajheezat Eid Al Adha Fair leans into that moment, bringing together products from more than 15 countries under one roof at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Perfumes sit alongside abayas, home pieces, accessories and everyday essentials, making it feel less like a market and more like a slow wander through everything you might need before the holiday arrives.

Date: April 23 to May 5

Location: Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC)

Find more information here.

• A Night with Mozart

The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra brings a program devoted entirely to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the Katara Cultural Village Opera House. It opens with the familiar brightness of “The Marriage of Figaro” overture, moves into the “First Horn Concerto” led by Peter Davida, and closes with the “Haffner Serenade,” which carries that unmistakable sense of movement and celebration. Even if you do not follow classical music closely, there is something about Mozart that makes an evening like this feel accessible from the first note.

Date: April 25

Location: Katara Cultural Village, Opera House

Find more information here.

• Matcha- or coffee-candle-making workshop in Qatar

Not every plan needs to be loud to be memorable. This workshop at Mocking Bird Cafe leans in the opposite direction, offering something quieter and more tactile. You spend a couple of hours learning how to make candles infused with either matcha or coffee, which already sets the tone before you even begin. It is equal parts creative and calming, the kind of activity that works just as well with friends as it does if you are simply looking to switch off for a bit and do something with your hands.

Date: April 24

Location: Mocking Bird Cafe, Lusail

Find more information here.