Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts

The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts is the country's main museum of modern and contemporary art. It was founded in 1980 by the Royal Society of Fine Arts, a private, non-profit organisation established the year before, whose board is headed by Princess Wijdan Al-Hashemi. The gallery's stated aim is to promote contemporary art from Jordan, the Arab world and the wider developing world.

The collection runs to several thousand works in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, photography, graphic arts, installation and video. Jordanian and Arab artists are well represented, alongside artists from Asia, Africa and Latin America, which gives the gallery a different emphasis from most European museums. The permanent collection fills two four-floor buildings, which also host visiting and local exhibitions, and the gallery has its own small park. A third building hosts artist residencies and a print studio, and a fourth, the Wijdan Artspace, runs courses in drawing, painting, pottery and printmaking.

Visitors can easily spend an hour or two moving between the buildings, and the gallery suits art lovers, students and anyone wanting to see a side of the region that rarely appears in travel brochures. There is an art, design and architecture library, a gift shop and a café, which makes it a pleasant stop for a break. There is an entry fee for non-Jordanians, students of Jordanian schools and universities enter free, and the gallery is open every day except Friday and public holidays, with shorter hours in Ramadan.

The gallery also runs a busy public programme, including the weekly Hiwar Art Club on Saturdays with lectures and film screenings, workshops for young people and a touring van that takes art to schools and communities around Jordan. Check the website for current exhibitions before you go, and allow time for the café, which keeps longer hours than the galleries.

The gallery stands on Husni Fareez Street in Jabal al-Luweibdeh, a hilly residential district of old stone houses and small cafés. It is a short walk or taxi ride from Paris Circle and Darat al Funun, and the blue dome of the King Abdullah I Mosque is close by, so the three make a natural afternoon itinerary.