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THE NEW QATARAMERICA
With a new space and mandate for the future, the Qatar America Institute for Culture adopts a new look and new digital initiatives
Q & A: The Reimagined QatarAmerica
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After several months of reforming QAIC’s leadership committees, relocating into a new headquarters, and refocusing under a new mandate, it was only fitting that this organizaitonal transformation be outfitted with a new look to compliment QAIC’s enhanced vision for the future.
Working with reknowned branding and design expert Peter Arnell and his team, QAIC created an entirely new aesthetic to best represent the tone and voice of the organization while maintaining the branding presence behind the “QatarAmerica” name. After a long and arduous process, the new brand for QAIC was officially announced on July 20, 2020.
Since its reveal, the QAIC brand has quickly become the true mascot for the organization as it is widely incorporated into all of QAIC’s products, digital platforms, and even physical spaces. While the plum-purple Q and A block letters make for a bold and impactful statement, the message is simple: QAIC exists to serve as a nexus between the United States and Qatar for all forms of art and culture, to represent the emerging creative talent of two diverse worlds, and to honor the contributions made by talented trailblazers who carved out spaces to be filled by future generations.
To celebrate QAIC’s new identity, a
QAIC-branded post for Thanksgiving
promotional video was produced which featured prominent spaces within QAIC’s new DC headquarters, QAIC’s core values, and representations of QAIC’s future programming initiatives as depicted through visual cues of dance, cuisine, community, and others.
Left column: graphics created to promote and visually communicate the three guiding principles of the Qatar America Institute for Culture. Above column: stills from the “The New QatarAmerica” announcement video whose production started in Q3 2020 until its public premiere in December 2020. The short video highlights the unique spaces within QAIC’s new building and symbolically represents the diverse programming initiatives and artistic opportunities for creatives.
QatarAmerica 2.0
Since even before its relaunch, the Qatar America Institute for Culture has been dedicated to serving as a meeting ground for all creative and cultural arts that source their inspiration from the Arab and Islamic worlds.
QAIC realizes that if it were to represent and occupy such a position within the artistic community, it would need both the digital capacity and ability to share all our work and bring the next generation of artists to its audience.
In the summer of 2020 during the midst of the pandemic, the QAIC team dedicated much of its time to bring this new vision to life in the digital space in the form of a new and enhanced website (www.qataramerica. org) and digital initiatives, such as the A2Q Magazine and the Slice of QAIC podcast series.
Launched in late September, QAIC’s new website focuses on making the experience for the QAIC community as seamless and enjoyable as possible. It features some of the unique works coming out of the Arab and Islamic worlds and the works made here in the United States through various digital media platforms, like videos, blog posts, photoo galleries, and virtual exhibitions. The QAIC website also serves as a main portal for outreach to the community network, where interested creatives
Concept design for the A2Q Magazine Example of the graphics used for the #CreativeMonday social media series
can apply for QAIC and/or partnersponsored initiatives or opt into the annual QAIC membership program.
Starting in 2021, QAIC’s quarterly digital magazine – A2Q – will complement the content already produced by QAIC by offering more in-depth and exclusive insights into the creative sphere by highlighting the unique stories and journeys of artists, writers, activists, and those seeking to make a positive change in the world. In line with QAIC’s mission, the hope is that the unique perspectives and creative visions presented in the publication will aid in bridging the gap between the diverse communities in the United States and the Arab and Islamic worlds. Each issue of the A2Q Magazine will be archived on the QAIC website for easy reference.
Also starting in 2021, QAIC’s podcase series, Slice of QAIC, hopes to enliven art and culture-centric content by not just depicting these creative works and stories, but by also presenting them in a format that users can listen to. As every story needs a voice to be told, the goal of this podcast series is to give a unique platform to creatives to expound on their personal stories and experiences in a fun and informative narrative style.
Some artists create art for art’s sake, while others create so that people can witness their vision and see their story come to life. Whatever motivates an artist to pursue their work, QAIC understands the hard work and passion that they pour into their creations.
This is why QAIC started in August of 2020 to dedicate space on social media to its Creative Mondays initiative. Each Monday, QAIC has highlighted an upand-coming artist making a significant impact in their field, whether American, Qatari, or having some unique story that matches with QAIC’s mission.
So as the saying goes, “we stand on the shoulders of giants,” while QAIC featured the future of creative talent, it too also began acknowledging the significant contributions of those who are icons in their fields and may no longer be with us but live on through their works.
QAIC’s digital space on Thursdays has become henceforth dedicated to these giants who paved the way for the next generation of artists and creatives. The Throwback Thursdays initiative recognizes how art luminaries broke down barriers in order to tell their stories and share their visions, thus shaping the world around them.
