A non-profit organization, the RAK Art Foundation, is dedicated to empowering artists worldwide by providing opportunities; encouraging cross-cultural collaborations and exchange; and fostering international partnerships. The RAK Art Foundation seeks to engage the community and educate the public, offering a platform for critical discourse and social dialogue. Advocating the development of endeavors such as innovation and sustainability, the RAK Art Foundation believes in the necessity of such efforts in furthering change and progress.

About the location

The RAK Art Foundation exists within a converted traditional Bahraini House, the home where Rashid Al Khalifa was raised. The original foundation, built in the 1920s, although restored, maintains its original walls and colonnade. Certain elements including remnants of the original gypsum walls, now act as central features and charming backdrops to one of the galleries that displays key works from the collection. Rashid Al Khalifa’s childhood bedroom, part of the second phase of the home which was built in the 1960s and is now an office and library, is flanked by one of Rashid’s own artworks that he painted on the wall when he was only 14 years old. The third phase, a double story building, was completely rebuilt in 2014 and boasts high ceilings, ornamental detailing and elevated windows that allow the space to be submerged in a gentle light, casting striking shadows.

Typical of traditional Bahraini architecture, each pavilion surrounds a central courtyard. Within the courtyard stands a prominent, ornamental cube, that houses Rashid Al Khalifa’s personal studio. Last but not least, in 2020 an extension was completed, designed as a contemporary ‘white cube’ gallery. Upon entering, visitors walk through a magnificent door, hand carved at the workshop of the last Bahraini Dhow maker, Jamal Shaheen.