ISSUE N o.
03
CONTEXT VCU Q ATA R M AGA Z I N E 2 013 –2 014
Issue 3 — 1
TA B L E of contents
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D E AN’S M E S SAG E
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FO R SU CH A TIM E A S TH I S
Peter Chomowicz Associate Dean for Research & Development
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E VE RYB O DY HA S A STO RY TO TE LL
Valerie Jeremijenko Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
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R E S E ARCH
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CU LTIVATIN G CR E ATIVE TH IN KIN G
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G LO BAL E XPE R IE N CE
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VCUART S R I CH M O N D
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TH E YE AR IN N U M B E R S
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ALU M N I PRO FILE S
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ALU M N I ACH IE VE M E NT S
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FACU LT Y & STAFF ACH IE VE M E NT S
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A D E STINATI O N FO R D IALO GU E
68 FO STE R IN G CO M M U N IT Y INVO LVE M E NT
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CL A S S O F 2014
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THAN K YO U
2 — Issue 3
D E A N ’S Message A L LY S O N VA N S TO N E
As you read the stories in this issue of Context, I hope you enjoy the reflections on our experiences and accomplishments. VCUQatar is a unique place that is filled with dedicated people who strive to engage in the unparalleled possibilities offered in Qatar and the region. This year, we have entered the final phase of our strategic planning to realign the university with the Qatar National Vision 2030, the Qatar Foundation 2013-23 Strategic Plan and the development of Hamad bin Khalifa University. I feel grateful to my colleagues for their participation in crafting this new direction, and excited about the opportunities that will arise for students, alumni, faculty, staff and our partners throughout Qatar and the world. As many of you know, 2014–15 is my last year at VCUQatar. Since making this announcement, I find myself reflecting on the past seven years with pride, nostalgia, even awe, at all we have accomplished together. Over the course of my tenure, we have expanded our degree programs to include visual arts and art history; introduced the Master of Fine Arts degree to the Gulf region; broadened community programs to welcome children as young as five and Arabic speakers; and doubled our facilities and resources to support the new programs and future needs of the university. We have initiated our Qatari Junior Faculty program and furthered our international and regional reputation as leaders in art and design education in the Middle East through the cumulative success of faculty and student research. We have made great strides in the continuous advancement of our public programming—including the biennial Islamic Art Symposium and Tasmeem Doha conference—and further developed our regional initiatives in scholarship and research, such as the realization of the Middle East Design Educators Association and the Tasmeem open access, online journal. Through our combined efforts, I see the visionary ambitions of the Qatar Foundation being realized. I believe in the critical work we undertake every day and our ability to excel through change. During my final months at VCUQatar, I am committed to support our progress and ambitions. Looking back, I see that words are not enough to show my appreciation for each of you. And so, I look forward to the pleasure of sharing our time together, creating new moments for reflection.
كلمة عميد الجامعة
السيدة أليسون فانستون
. آمل أن تستمتعوا بالتأمل يف جتاربنا وإجنازاتنا،Context وأنتم تتصفحون هذا العدد من مكان فريد من نوعه ميلء باألشخاص المتفانني، فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر،جامعتنا .الذين يسعون إىل االخنراط يف إمكانياهتا الفريدة اليت تقدمها لدولة قطر والمنطقة وصلنا إىل المرحلة الهنائية من وضع خطتنا االسرتاتيجية إلعادة تنظيم اجلامعة،هذا العام 2023 – 2013 وخطة مؤسسة قطر االسرتاتيجية،2030 مبا يتناسب ورؤية قطر الوطنية أشعر باالمتنان لزماليئ عىل.HBKU واخلطة االسرتاتيجية والتطويرية جلامعة محد بن خليفة وحنن متحمسون للفرص اليت ستنبثق عنه،ماشركهتم يل يف صياغة هذا االجتاه اجلديد .للطالب واخلرجيني وأعضاء هيئة التدريس والموظفني ورشكائنا يف مجيع أحناء قطر والعالم ، هي السنة األخرية يل يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر2015–2014 ،كما تعلمون ، وجدت نفيس اسرتجع السنوات السبع الماضية بكل فخر،ومنذ اختاذي هذا القرار وخالل فرتة وجودي يف هذا، قمنا. يف كل ما أجنزناه معا، و الرهبة،احلنني إىل المايض كما قدمنا درجة. بتوسيع براجمنا األ كادميية لتشمل الفنون البرصية وتارخي الفن،المنصب ووسعنا براجمنا للمجتمع لتشمل المتحدثني باللغة.ماجستري الفنون إىل منطقة اخلليج كما قمنا مبضاعفة حجم مرافقنا ومواردنا لدعم.العربية واألطفال من عمر مخس سنوات " أطلقنا برناجم "األستاذ القطري الاشب.براجمنا اجلديدة واالحتياجات المستقبلية للجامعة وعززنا سمعتنا دوليا وإقليميا كقادة يف تعليم الفن والتصميم يف الرشق األوسط من خالل .جناحنا األ كادميي وحبوث أعضاء هيئة التدريس يف اجلامعة وطالبنا مبا يف ذلك منتدى الفن،حققنا خطوات كبرية يف الهنوض المتواصل برباجمنا العامة اإلسالمي الذي يعقد كل سنتني و مؤمتر تصميم دوحة وطورنا مبادراتنا يف المنح الدراسية مبا يف ذلك إطالق احتاد أاستذة التصميم يف الرشق األوسط والمجلة اإللكرتونية،والبحوث أرى بأننا حققنا طموحات، ومن خالل هذه اجلهود المشرتكة."المتاحة للجميع "تصميم .ورؤية مؤسسة قطر وأؤمن بقدرتنا عىل التفوق من.أؤمن بالعمل احليوي واحلاسس الذي نقوم به كل يوم .خالل التغيري . الزتم بدعم تقدمنا وطموحاتنا،خالل أهشري األخرية يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر أرى وبإخالص أن الكلمات وحدها ال تكفي يف إظهار تقديري لكل واحد،بالنظر إىل الوراء ، أتطلع إىل المزيد من األوقات الممتعة اليت سنقضهيا و نتاشركها معا، وهكذا.منكم .وخلق حلظات جديدة احتفظ هبا يف ذاكريت
Issue 3 — 3
FOR SUCH a time as this PETER CHOMOWICZ
R I C H A R D S E R R A ’ S E A S T - W E S T / W E S T - E A S T Doha 4 — Issue 3
2013
A S S O C I AT E D E A N F O R R E S E A RC H & D E V E L O P M E N T P E T E R C H O M O W I C Z C O N T E M P L AT E S T H E C H A N G I N G FA C E O F Q ATA R
من اجل مثل هذا الوقت
بيتر شوموويز -نائب العميد للبحوث والتنمية
أود أن آخذكم يف رحلة .رحلة نعود هبا إىل المايض ،رحلة تعرفنا عىل مقتطفات قصرية من عام .1918
I wish to take you on a trip. A trip back in time through a short excerpt from a 1918 travelogue:
الدوحة :من البحر ،بانوراما مدهشة من المنحوتات الملونة .مدينة بلون الكراميل ختتفي بيوهتا وراء ستار من الرمال الربونزية ،بيوت من األحجار السمراء المصفرة وألبان من النحاس .يف الميناء ،مراكب رشاعية تهتادى ببطء بأرشعهتا المرقعة ختفق عاليا.
From the sea, Doha provides an amazing panorama of ochre-colored sculpture. A caramel-colored city with its houses cloaked in bronzesand, in tawny stone and in copper adobe. In the harbor, a patchedup sail whips against a heavily loaded sailboat.
عىل األرض ،أشق طريقي يف متاهة من الشوارع اخللفية لمدينة بسيطة صغرية وغريبة وبلون الشوكوالته .النوافذ المهلهلة تسد وبشكل حاذق بقضبان رقيقة ،تسمح لضوء الهنار القايس لهذه األرايض بالمرور. هنا وهناك ،ترى جمموعة من أشجار النخيل والشجريات الشوكية الهزيلة ذات الفروع الصغرية المتقزمة .حتفظ هذه المناطق كأهنا زمرد مصقول ،فاألخرض ال وجود له عىل هذه األرض .ولكنه حكر عىل البحر .فكلما رضبت أشعة الشمس الماء ،تراه يف كل مكان رائعا مفعما باحلياة ،يكرس حدة األزرق الداكن ويزول رسيعا( .تاشرلز فوكويري يف بيجوين بيليكوك )2-151 مر قرن من الزمان منذ أن خط الضابط البحري الفرنيس اشرل فوكويري هذه الكلمات. ماذا كانت قطر قبل قرن من اآلن؟ واحلق يقال ،عىل الرغم من الماسفة اليت قد تفصلنا عن دوحة فوكويري ،فالمهشد الذي وصفه تالىش منذ نصف قرن من الزمان فقط .فكر، للحظة ،كيف كان بلدك يف اخلمسينات .إذا كنت أوروبيا ،فقد كانت المدن والصناعات تظهر من رماد احلرب العالمية الثانية ،ويعاد بناءها مع أحدث التقنيات حىت كانت كأهنا ستار حديدي مرسوم يف مجيع أحناء القارة .أما إذا كنت أمريكيا ،فال شك بأن والديك يتذكرون الطرق الرسيعة اجلديدة يف البالد طوال واألقمار الصناعية اليت تدور حول الكوكب، والطاقة النووية اليت بدأت متد مدننا وسفننا وقنابلنا أيضا ،بالطاقة. يف الدوحة كانت الصورة خمتلفة بعض اليشء ،فقد كانت تهشد والدة ما يسمى "الشوارع الكهربائية" و ألول مرة يف البالد .كان طريق الريان يصبح أول اشرع مسفلت. وكانت السفن عىل وشك توصيل أول شحنة من مكيفات الهواء المحمولة .وبدأت التحلية حتل حمل آبار المياه احللوة والناقالت اخلليجية ترسو كل أسبوعني .أما بقية القصة ،فهو ما يطلقون عليه التارخي. يف أوائل ،2014زار ريتاشرد سريا جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر للحديث عن منحوتته اجلديدة بالقرب من زكريت .رؤية صورة جوية أللواحه الفوالذية وقد وضعت كمنحوتة يف األرض ،جعلتين أتذكر وأفكر فقط يف فوكويري ،ومدى تغري المهشد يف قطر منذ ذلك احلني .خيربنا علماء اجليولوجيا أن قطر ولفرتة طويلة من تارخيها كانت يف معظمها حتت الماء .نستطيع تصور ذلك بنظرة واحدة عىل اجلبال القدمية يف غرب قطر .ولكن أثناء العرص اجلليدي األخري احنرست المياه ،وحبست يف أهنار جليدية .يف ذلك الوقت، أدركت االناسنية كيفية العيش معا يف القرى ،ويف المخيمات ،عمليا كان ميكنك السري من الدوحة إىل طهران عىل األقدام .كان اخلليج العريب كبحرية داخلية صغرية. واليوم ،ال يزال أولئك الذين عاشوا يف قطر منذ بضع سنوات ميكهنم ،وأنا متأكد من ذلك ،أن يتحدثوا عن تلك األيام اخلوايل اليت كان الطواف بالسيارة حول الدوحة يستغرق ثالثني دقيقة فقط .المهشداآلن -مهشد المدينة -تغري كثريا.
Issue 23 — 5
On land, I push my way through the labyrinth of this strange, chocolate-colored, austere city’s tiny back streets. Flimsy windows are deftly blocked by thin bars, allowing the cruel daylight of these lands to pass through. Here and there, a bunch of scraggly palm trees and spiny bushes with stunted little branches can be seen. Save these spots of enameled emerald, green is nonexistent on this land. But in the sea it is everywhere. It is the exclusive privilege of the sea. A lively, ephemeral green plays off the dark blue, magnificently orchestrated by the light of a beating sun. )(Charles Fouquery in Beguin-Billecocq 151-2
Nearly a century has passed since French naval officer Charles Fouquery penned these words, and what a century for Qatar it’s been. Truth be told, despite the remove we might feel from Fouquery’s Doha, the landscape he describes faded only a half-century ago. Think, for a moment, where your country was in the 1950s. If you are European, your cities and industries were emerging from the ashes of World War II, rebuilding with the latest technologies even as the Iron Curtain was drawing across the continent. If you are American, no doubt your parents remember new highways crisscrossing the country, satellites orbiting the planet, and nuclear energy beginning to power our cities, our ships, and, of course, our bombs. Here in Doha, the picture was a bit different. The eponymously named “Electricity Street” was receiving the nation’s first gen;erator; Al Rayyan Road was becoming the first strip of asphalt and ships were about to deliver the first portable air conditioners. Desalination was not far off, replacing the sweet water wells and Gulf tankers that docked every fortnight. The rest of the story is, as they say, history. In early 2014, Richard Serra visited VCUQatar to talk about his new installation near Zekreet. Seeing the aerial photograph of his steel slabs placed in contrast with the eroded earth, I couldn’t help but think of Fouquery, and how much the landscape of Qatar has changed since his time. Geologists tell us that Qatar was mostly underwater for much of its history. One look at the ancient jebels of Western
Photo courtesy of Qatar Petroleum
التارخي ،كما نعلم ،قد تغري ألسباب عديدة .أرجع الفيلسوف األلماين غيورغ هيغل التغريات يف احلقب التارخيية الشخاص حمددين ،وصفه ب "التارخي العالمي لألفراد" الذين حققوا إجنازات عظيمة من خالل رؤيهتم وإرادهتم وسلطهتم ،الذين فهموا مزاج أوقاهتم ،ومع ذلك سعوا إىل حتويل جذري يف األرض حيقق الراحة لمجتمعهم. عندما انتقلت إىل الدوحة منذ مخس سنوات ،أسلين أصدقايئ يف الواليات المتحدة" :إىل أين أنت ذاهب؟" فأقول -وقد يبدو جوايب مألوفا " -اهنا بالقرب من ديب" ،ولكن اليوم، لم يعد من الرضوري هذا التحديد اجلغرايف .لقد تغري المهشد العالمي كثريا وأصبحت قطر عىل خارطة العالم . يف اآلونة األخرية ،غالبا ما حتتل قطرالعناوين الرئيسية يف الصفحات األوىل لكل صحف العالم .والقاسم المشرتك لهذه التغطية هو لماذا؟ لماذا استضافت دولة قطر حركة طالبان ،أو لماذا استضافت كأس العالم؟ لماذا تشرتي هذا االمتياز أو تقيم هذا المبىن؟ نظريات وفرية تغطي تقريبا كل جانب من جوانب احلياة االجتماعية واالقتصادية والسياسية .لعبة التخمني هذه ال تنهتي و هي اليت تبقي واسئل اإلعالم العالمية تعمل عىل الدوام وبشكل كامل .ولكين أود أيضا أن أقرتح ،أن السبب يف التغري اجلذري لدولة قطر ليس هو السؤال األ كرث إثارة الذي ميكن أن نأسله. رمبا ،وبدال من أن نأسل لماذا تتطور قطر مبثل هذه الرسعة الرهيبة ،علينا أن نأسل :كيف يتم هذا التغيري؟ كيف يتم بناء اجلزر االصطناعية ،واألنفاق ،ونظام المرتو؟ كيف يستطيع مثل هذا البلد الصغري أن جيذب كل هذا االهتمام الدويل؟ كيف تستطيع قطر اليوم أن جتذب بعضا من أفضل وألمع المواهب يف العالم ؟ أو باألحرى ،قد يكون علينا أن نأسل: "ماذا نفهم من هذا المهشد المتغري؟ ما هي جتربتنا الفردية من طموحات قطر؟ حتقيقا لهذه الغاية ،أعتقد بأن ونستون ترششل قد ياسعدنا يف اإلجابة عىل هذه األسئلة. يف عام ،1940قام الملك جورج الاسدس باستدعاء نائب األدمريال يف البحرية ترششل إىل قرص باكنجهام .وكان ترششل يوصف ،ويعرف ،بأنه سيكون رئيس الوزراء المقبل لربيطانيا العظمى والذي سيقود بالده خالل أحلك اسعاهتا .يذكر ترششل يف مذكراته، كيف وقف عىل درجات القرص و شعر ،للحظة ،بيد التارخي عىل كتفه .وقال ترششل أنه أدرك عندها ما سيواجهه يف حياته .وقال" :كان ذلك كله ،من أجل مثل هذا الوقت" وقد غري هذا المهشد حياته بالتأكيد.
Qatar and it’s easy to imagine. But the waters receded during the last ice age, became locked up in glaciers. At that time, as humanity was just figuring out how to live together—in villages, in encampments—you could feasibly walk from Doha to Tehran; the Arabian Gulf was only a small, inland lake. Today, those who have lived in Qatar for a few years can, I’m sure, wax poetic about the good old days when a drive across Doha took a mere 30 minutes. The landscape—now a cityscape—has changed a great deal. History, as we know, is altered for many reasons. The German philosopher Georg Hegel attributed changes in historic epochs to significant persons, to what he called “world-historical individuals” who accomplished great feats through vision and will-power, and who understood the mood of their times, yet sought to radically shift the ground upon which their society rested. When I moved to Doha five years ago, my friends back in the U.S. would ask: where are you going? My answer might sound familiar: It’s near Dubai, I would say. But today, it’s no longer necessary to orient the geographically challenged. The world landscape has changed and Qatar is very much on the global map. Of late, it seems no newspaper’s front page is without reference to Qatar. And the common thread of such coverage is why? Why is Qatar hosting the Taliban, or the World Cup? Why is it buying this franchise or erecting that building? The theories are legion covering nearly every facet of the socio-economic and political spectrum. It’s a never-ending guessing game that keeps us, and the global media, fully engaged. But I’d also like to suggest that the why of Qatar’s radically changing landscape isn’t the most provocative question we could ask. Maybe, instead of asking why Qatar is developing at such break-neck
6 — Issue 3
FO R S U C H A T I M E A S T H I S
speed, we might ask: how is it changing? How is it building artificial islands, tunnels, a metro system? How is it that such a tiny nation commands international attention? How is it attracting some of the best and brightest talent in the world today? Or rather, we might be tempted to ask what each of us understands about this changing landscape? What is our individual experience of Qatar’s ambitions? To that end, I think Winston Churchill might help us with these questions. In 1940, then-Vice Admiral of the Navy Churchill was summoned to Buckingham Palace by King George VI. He was called, he knew, to be Great Britain’s next prime minister and to lead his country through its darkest hour. In his memoirs, Churchill recalls how he stopped on the palace steps and, for a moment, felt the hand of history upon his shoulder. This, he knew, was what his life had been directed toward. It was all, in his words, “for such a time as this,” for his landscape had surely changed. Though Qatar is hardly going through its darkest hour, it is, most assuredly, faced with monumental challenges. The country’s landscape is once again changing, and this time not just topographically. Its very DNA is changing before our eyes. Challenges affect health, family, energy, education, transportation—almost every dimension of society—and no one fully knows in what ways the country will emerge from these challenges. In my role as Associate Dean of Research & Development, I have the privilege to hear a great deal about how the landscape is changing. Nobel laureates, distinguished scientists, politicians and policy specialists abound, and each tells us, from his or her perspective, the problem and the solution. Then, of course, they get back on a plane and return home. Few, if any, pause on the steps of the Emiri Diwan to consider the most significant question of all: what am I to do for such a time as this? My colleagues and I must acknowledge a different reality. We have been chosen, or called—however one wishes to view a life’s direction—we have been led here. In this era of unprecedented opportunity and enormous challenge, each of us is being asked to answer the question that matters most: not the how or why of Qatar’s changing landscape, but the question of our role in it.
. تواجه حتديات هائلة، إال أهنا وبكل تأكيد،عىل الرغم من أن قطر ال متر بأحلك اسعاهتا حنن. وهذه المرة ليس فقط المهشد الطوبوغرايف،فالمهشد يف البالد يتغري مرة أخرى ، والطاقة، واألرسة، وهذه التحديات تؤثر عىل الصحة.نهشد تغريا جذريا يف البالد وال أحد يستطيع أن يدرك إىل أين، تؤثر تقريبا عىل كل أبعاد المجتمع، والنقل،والتعليم .ستصل البالد من خالل هذه التحديات تتيح يل. فأنا أسمع الكثري عن كيفية تغري المهشد،بصفيت نائب العميد للبحوث والتنمية الفرصة مقابلة الكثري من احلائزين عىل جائزة نوبل والعلماء المتمزيين والسياسيني وغريهم ما هي المشكلة- نظرها/ من وجهة نظره- وكل مهنم خيربنا،من المتخصصني يف السياسة وإن، عدد قليل مهنم. يعودون إىل أوطاهنم عىل منت أول طائرة، بالطبع، ثم.وما هو احلل : وقفوا عىل ساللم الديوان األمريي لينظروا يف السؤال األهم الذي قد يطرح نفسه،وجد عندما حيني مثل هذا الوقت ما الذي استطيع القيام به؟ وحسب نظرتكم، أو دعوتنا، لقد تم اختيارنا.ال بد يل أنا وزماليئ من أن نقر واقعا خمتلفا يف هذه احلقبة من الفرص غري المسبوقة والتحديات.إىل احلياة – ألن نقوم بالقيادة هنا ليس كيف أو لماذا تهشد: عىل كل واحد منا اإلجابة عىل السؤال األ كرث أهمية،الهائلة ما هو دورنا يف ذلك؟: ولكن السؤال هو،قطر كل هذه التغريات . فال بد لنا أن نكون خارج هذه اجلدران، إذا كان المهشد يتغري.أعتقد أن الراسلة واضحة . وصاالت العرض، إىل المدارس الثانوية،حنن حباجة إىل اخلروج من خمترباتنا واستوديوهاتنا ) يقود؟... يعمل فهيا الناس (هل أجرؤ عىل القول/ يلعب/ إىل األماكن اليت يعيش حنن هنا، ال خنطئ عندما نقول.حبيث يستطيع إبداعنا الماسعدة يف توجيه هذا التحول ما هو دورنا يف هذا المهشد: يطلب منا اإلجابة وبأوضح العبارات عن.إلحداث تأثري "يف مثل هذا الوقت"؟: المتغري؟ ما أفضل ما ميككين القيام به ولكن اخلرب الاسر هو أن خطتنا االسرتاتيجية اجلديدة.أنا أعرتف بأن هذا قد يبدو صعبا خطة تعالج بشكل، وضعنا معا، يف العام المايض.تضع مثل هذه األسئلة يف االعتبار واأل كرث. اهنا خطة متنحنا فرصة الرد عىل هذه األسئلة وجبرأة.مبارش حتديات هذا المهشد . تصميم خطة تدعمنا يف إجياد أجوبتنا اخلاصة،من ذلك . علينا مسؤولية إضافية يف إعداد اجليل القادم من صناع التغيري،كمربيني ومعلمني مسؤولية حتفزي وجتهزي أبناء وبنات قطر إلجناز األشياء العظيمة ويف هناية المطاف كيف سياسهم كل مهنم يف تطوير:ماسعدهتم يف اإلجابة بأنفهسم عىل هذا السؤال الاشق مستقبل بلدهم؟ وإعداد، تصميم ماشريع استوديوهاتنا، اختيار مناهجنا- ، وحنن نواصل دورنا،لذلك ما،لنقدر إمكاناهتا ولكنين آمل أيضا أن نتوقف. نشعر بثقل هذه المسؤولية،حمارضاتنا ّ هو أكرث إثارة من أن نأخذ عىل عاتقنا هذه التحديات كمؤسسة األمة الوحيدة يف تدريس وحبوث الفن والتصميم؟ ".يا لنا من حمظوظني لنجد أنفسنا هنا يف "مثل هذا الوقت
I think the message from our sponsor is clear. If the landscape is changing, then we need to be outside these walls. We need to get out of our laboratories and studios, and into the high schools, the galleries. Into the places where people live, work, play (dare I say… drive?) so that our creativity may help guide this transformation.
Issue 3 — 7
Make no mistake, we are here to make an impact. We are being asked in the clearest of terms to answer: what is my role in this changing landscape? How can I best serve “such a time as this?” I confess this may seem daunting. But the good news is that our new strategic plan is conceived with such questions in mind. Last year, we put our heads together and came up with a plan that squarely addresses the challenges of this landscape. It’s a plan that gives each of us the opportunity to boldly answer these questions. But moreover, the plan’s design supports each of us in finding our own particular answer. As educators, we have the added responsibility to prepare the next generation of change-makers. We motivate and equip Qatar’s sons and daughters to accomplish great things and to ultimately answer for themselves the daunting question of how they will contribute to their country’s future. So, as we continue our work—type our syllabi, design our studio projects, prepare our lectures—we should feel the weight of this responsibility. But I also hope we pause to recognize its potential, for what could be more exciting than to take on these challenges as the nation’s only art and design institution of teaching and research? To again quote from Winston Churchill: To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour. How lucky we are to find ourselves here in “such a time as this.”
8 — Issue 3
FO R S U C H A T I M E A S T H I S
Issue 3 — 9
E V E RY B O DY has a story to tell VA L E R I E J E R E M I J E N KO
A SS I STA N T D E A N O F ST U D E N T A F FA I R S VA L E R I E J E R E M I J E N KO R E M E M B E R S V C U Q ATA R ’ S E A R LY D AY S
لكل منا قصة يرويها
فاليري جيريميجنكو -مساعد العميد لشؤون الطالب
لكل شخص يعمل يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر قصة يروهيا ،قصة عن النمو والتغيري. احتفل هذا العام مبرور مخسة عرش عاما يل يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث – اثين عرشعاما قضيهتم هنا يف قطر .أود أن أروي قصيت كماسعد العميد لشؤون الطالب .واليت هي أيضا قصة تطور جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر ،ودور شؤون الطالب اجلوهري يف هذا التطور. انتقلت يف سبتمرب 2002من والية فرجينيا إىل جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر ،وذلك للماسعدة يف المرحلة االنتقالية لتحويل مدرسة الشقب لفنون التصميم إىل فرع من اجلامعة األم تعرتف به الدولة .تطوير مكتب قوي لشؤون الطالب كان رضورة قصوى إلدارة واحتواء الطالب. يف ذلك الوقت كان تقديم طلبات االلتحاق وقبول الطالب من مهام إدارة شؤون الطالب .كان أحد التحديات اليت واجهتنا ،عدم توفر السبل للقيام باختبار التوفل يف قطر -وهو أحد متطلبات القبول يف اجلامعة .كانت السفارة األمريكية آنذاك توفر هذه الفرصة مرة واحدة خالل العام .ولذلك كانت المقاعد حمجوزة بالكامل .وكنا أمام خيارين :إما ماسعدة الطالب يف العثور عىل مكان آخر يف المنطقة لتقديم هذه االختبارات أو توفري فرصة ألداء هذا االختبار بأنفسنا .وكان اخليار األخري ،استطعنا يف مرحلة واحدة أن نوفر فرصة تقديم اختبارات ال TOEFLالورقية حلوايل 500طالب يف موسم القبول .كان هذا تطورا ملمواس ،ولكنه لم يكن مناسبا أيضا ،حيث بدأ الناس من مجيع أحناء قطر ،والذين يسعون للتقديم يف أي من اجلامعات الوطنية أو الدولية األخرى، يطالبون باحلصول عىل فرصة تقديم هذا االختبار جنبا إىل جنب مع طالب جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث المحتملني. كانت كلية طب وايل كورنيل يف قطر قد فتحت أبواهبا للتو ،ولكننا لم نبدأ يف التعاون معهم حىت وصول جامعة تكاسس A&Mعام .2003أدى عملنا معا عىل مر السنني، إىل إطالق براجم مؤسسية مشرتكة مهنا برناجم "اكتشف المدينة التعليمية" الذي جيذب أكرث من 1500طالب وعائالهتم .فعاليات المدارس الثانوية المحلية واإلقليمية اليت تعزز إجراءات التقديم وااللتحاق ،وجوالت التواصل والتوعية واجلوالت التعريفية يف المدارس المحلية .واألهم من ذلك ،متكنا من إقناع كفيلنا وراعينا ،مؤسسة قطر ،بعقد االختبارات األ كادميية كخدمة مشرتكة .اليوم ،يستطيع مجيع المتقدمني تقديم جمموعة كاملة من اختبارات الكفاءة TOEFLو LCATsو MCATsو GREsيف مركز االختبارات يف جامعة محد بن خليفة .HBKU أما األمر اآلخر والذي شكل لنا أيضا حتديا كبريا" ،الملف الشخيص الفين" للمتقدم ،وهو أحد المتطلبات الرئيسية المطلوبة عند التقدم بطلب التحاق لكليات الفن والتصميم. كان هذا مفهوما جديدا هنا ،ونتيجة لذلك ،كانت جاهزية الطالب ضئيلة أو معدومة. وقد قمنا وبالتعاون مع برناجمنا التأسييس ،بتطوير برناجم خصب للعامة ،مبا فهيم الطلبة المحتملني .منت هذه المبادرة المبكرة لتصبح اآلن برناجما متكامال من براجم المجتمع خيدم أكرث من ألف شخص يف العام ،مبا فهيم األطفال وطالب المدارس الثانوية %70 .من طالبنا المستجدين هذا العام كانوا قد حرضوا بعضا من هذه الدورات لتاسعدهم يف االلتحاق باجلامعة. هناك العديد من المجاالت احليوية األخرى اليت قمنا بتطويرها عىل مدى السنوات ومباسعدة فرق شؤون الطالب يف مجيع أحناء المدينة التعليمية .عىل سبيل المثال ،سكن الطالب ،يف األيام األوىل جلامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر لم يكن لهذا السكن أي براجم رعاية.
Issue 3 — 11
Everybody who works at VCUQatar has a story to tell, a story of growth and change, and now that I have celebrated my 15th year at VCU—twelve of which have been in Qatar—I would like to tell the story of my time as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. It is also the story of VCUQatar’s evolution, and the essential role that Student Affairs has played in it. I started at VCUQatar in September 2002. I was brought from Virginia to Qatar to help transition VCUarts’ Shaqab School of Design Arts into a State-recognized branch campus. The development of a strong Student Affairs office was essential to the student experience. At the time, recruitment and admissions functions were part of Student Affairs. One particular challenge was the absence of opportunities to take the admission-required TOEFL test in Qatar. The American Embassy offered it once a year, but seats would typically be fully booked. The choice was to either help students find tests elsewhere in the region or to offer it ourselves. We chose the latter, and at one stage offered about 500 paper-based TOEFL tests during the admission season. That was an improvement, but also unsustainable, as people from across Qatar, intending to apply to other national or international universities, were asking to take our test alongside prospective VCUQatar students. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar had just opened its doors, but with the all-consuming nature of start-ups, we did not begin to collaborate until Texas A&M arrived in 2003. Over the years, our work together resulted in programs that are now institutionalized, including the Discover Education City event, which draws over 1500 students and families; regional and local high school events, which try to reinforce application and integrity issues; and tours and outreach to local schools. Most importantly, we were able to encourage our sponsor, Qatar Foundation, to administer the academic testing as a shared service. Today, applicants can take the full range of tests from TOEFL to LCATs, MCATs and GREs at the Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) testing center. Another significant challenge for us was the art portfolio, an essential requirement when applying to an art and design school. It was a novel concept here and as a result, students had little or no preparation. Through a collaboration with our Foundation Program, we developed an arts enrichment program for the public, including potential students. This early initiative has now grown into a full-fledged Community Outreach program serving more than a thousand community members a year, including children and high
E V E RY B O DY H A S A STO RY TO T E L L
عندما وصلت ألول مرة ،كانت صاحبة السمو الشيخة موزا بنت نارص قد منحت حوايل عرشين منحة دراسية كاملة للطالب المسلمني من البوسنة اليت مزقهتا احلرب .وكان عمر بعضهم لم يتجاوز اخلمسة عرش عاما ،وكثريا مهنم فقدوا أرسهم ،وشعورهم باألمان .لدعم هؤالء الطالب وغريهم الذين يعيشون يف احلرم اجلامعي ،قمت أنا وفريق االستاشريني يف اجلامعة حبمل وإتاحة هواتفنا ليال وهنارا ،حىت توفر لدينا برناجما جديدا للحاالت الطارئة. كان هناك دامئا حتديات جديدة -من احلاالت الصحية الطارئة واألزمات األرسية ،إىل أعمال الشغب يف احلرم اجلامعي وعوارض الصحة العقلية .كل هذه األحداث عجلت العمل المكثف من جانبنا لوضع أنظمة االستجابة يف مكاهنا .ومع افتتاح المزيد من اجلامعات يف أحناء المدينة التعليمية ،ومن خالل عالقات التعاون بيننا والعمل مع مؤسسة قطر متكنا من إناشء برناجم رسمي لسكن الطالب. كنتيجة لعملنا مبكرا مع القبول والتسجيل ،والصحة والسالمة قمنا بتخصيص براجم كاملة ووظائف متخصصة .مما سمح لالستاشريني لدينا بالرتكزي عىل تقديم المشورة وتوفري براجم للتكيف مع احلياة اجلامعية.طالبنا بربناجم التطعيم اإلجباري وتوفري عيادة صحية داخل احلرم اجلامعي متاحة جلميع أاستذة وموظفي المدينة التعليمية .كما نظمنا العديد من براجم التوعية الصحية حىت أصبحت براجم الماسج واالسرتخاء والعصائر اخلرضاء من العروض العادية اليت تقدم من خالل شؤون الطالب ،وعىل الرغم من أهنا قد تبدو براجما تركز عىل الطعام والمرح ،إال أهنا توفر لنا أيضا فرصة قيمة للتحقق من سالمة ورفاهية الطالب. وحيث أن التعاون مع أقراننا يف مجيع أحناء المدينة التعليمية كان بعيد المدى ،فبرتكزي جهودنا شجعنا مؤسسة قطر عىل ابتكار منصب نائب الرئيس لشؤون الطالب والذي شغله أوال الدكتور دينيس روبرتس واآلن ،يشغله الدكتور خالد اخلنجي .وقد أسفرت جهود مماثلة عن إقامة مركز الطالب احلايل جلامعة محد بن خليفة .يف حني استلزم المرشوع عدة سنوات من التخطيط والبناء والتنمية ،إال أن مركز الطالب يف جامعة محد بن خليفة قد فاق توقعاتنا من حيث دوره والرباجم اليت يقدمها. أما عن دورنا وجهودنا يف احلياة واألنشطة الطالبية واخلدمات التعليمية فقد انتقلنا من مرحلة االستجابة إىل مرحلة إناشء التقاليد القيمة .ومن هذه التقاليد :الربناجم التعريفي واحليوي للطلبة المستجدين ،احلدث االجتماعي السنوي "آيس كريم -هوت شوكلت" و الاسعة األسبوعية "كرك" وكذلك رحلتنا الميدانية إىل ريتشموند وحضور "اليوم القطري السنوي" كجزء من برناجم القادة لدينا .مثل هذه األنشطة تواصل حشد الرشكاء والفرص المتاحة لتعزيز عملنا .من الرباجم األخرى الملحوظة واليت بدأت بالتعاون مع مكتب العميد يف اجلامعة برناجم "التواصل بني الثقافات" ،فنحن وكجزء من مهمتنا يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر نؤيد هذا التفاعل الثقايف. هناك العديد من األمثلة اليت استطيع ذكرها ،العديد من القصص الطالبية ،السعيدة مهنا واحلزينة ،العديد من الرباجم اخلاصة اليت بثت فهيا احلياة وال تزال تنمو وختدم اجلامعة. واليوم ،وحنن يف شؤون الطالب ندخل مرحلة جديدة يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر، نشعر بأننا نبدأ من جديد .عىل الرغم من أننا نبدأ كل يوم كما لو كان يوم جديد ،أود أن أذكر بأن جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر لطالما كانت الرائدة يف تطوير الرباجم اليت تركز عىل الطالب يف المدينة التعليمية .هذا إرث آمل أن نستمر يف تشجيعه ودعمه من خالل عملنا يف أحناء احلرم اجلامعي ،إهنا سمعة أعتقد أننا وجبدارة نستحقها.
school students. This year, when we asked our freshmen if they had taken one of these classes before matriculating, 70% of our local students raised their hands. There are many other vital areas that we have developed over the years with the help of Student Affairs teams throughout Education City. Student housing, for example, had no comprehensive programs in the early days of VCUQatar. When I first arrived, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser had given about twenty full scholarships to Muslim students from war-torn Bosnia. Some of these students were as young as 15, and many of them had lost their family members, along with all sense of security. With little infrastructure to support these students and the many others who lived on campus, the counselors and myself carried our phones night and day, and emergency response mode became our new normal. Over the years, there were always new challenges—from health emergencies and family crises, to bullying on campus and mental health interventions. All such events precipitated extensive work on our part to put response systems into place. As more universities set up campuses across Education City, we were able to form collaborations and work with Qatar Foundation to create a formal student-housing program. Early work with admissions, registration, health and safety led to fully-fledged programs and dedicated positions. This allowed our counselors to focus on counseling and the college transition programs. We advocated for a mandatory immunization program and an on-campus health clinic available to all Education City faculty and staff. Additional health and wellness programs including Stress Busters and the Green Smoothie event are regular offerings through Student Affairs, and though they may seem focused on food and fun, they also provide us with a valuable opportunity to engage with students about their well being. Collaboration with our peers across Education City has been far-reaching. Through focused efforts we encouraged Qatar Foundation to create a Vice Provost of Students role—first held by Dr. Dennis Roberts and now, by Dr. Khalid Al Khanji. Similar efforts resulted in the HBKU Student Center. While the project involved many years of planning, construction and development, the HBKU Student Center has far exceeded our expectations in terms of scope and programs offered.
12 — Issue 3
E V E RY B O DY H A S A STO RY TO T E L L
Closer to home, the work that we do in regards to student life, student activities and service learning has graduated from start-up responsiveness to the establishment of valuable traditions. These include our vibrant student-led Freshmen Orientation, our annual Ice Cream Social, Hot Chocolate Mixer, and weekly Karak Hour, as well as our student leadership trip to Richmond and the accompanying Qatar Day, which continue to garner partners and opportunities to promote our work. Another notable program initiated in collaboration with the Dean's Office is the Intercultural Communication Program. Interculturalism is now upheld in our university’s mission statement. There are many more examples I could mention—many more student stories, both triumphant and tragic; many more programs that took on lives of their own and continue to grow and serve the university. Today, as we move into a new phase of VCUQatar and Student Affairs, it feels as if we are beginning yet again. And though we may begin each day as if it were new, I’d like to remember that VCUQatar has long been a leader in the development of student-focused programs at Education City. This is a legacy I hope we continue to foster and uphold in our work across campus, for it is a reputation I think we truly deserve.
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R E S E A RCH in context A H O M E FO R TH E A RT S R H YS H I M SWO RT H D R . BY R A D Y Y E L L A N D DR. JOHAN GR ANBERG
TO P I M AG E: R E N D E R I N G O F I N T E R N A L V I E W O F T H E A RT S O U Q 14 — Issue 3 B O T T O M I M A G E : A E R I A L R E N D E R I N G O F A RT S O U Q FA C I L I T Y
A RT S O U Q E N V I S I O N S A S PAC E FO R Q ATA R ’ S A RT I ST S
سوق الفن -رؤية المجتمع القطري للفنون التشكيلية
ريس همسوورث ،د .بايراد ليالند ،د .يوهان جرانبيرغ
يف السعي لتطوير الرؤية لمجتمع الفنانني يف قطر ،حصلت جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر عىل منحة من برناجم األولويات الوطنية للبحث العلمي NPRPلبحث وتطوير تصميم جممع من االستديوهات الفنية المتعددة ،أو "سوق الفن" يف الدوحة .تكلل هذا البحث يف خطة اشملة لبناء وإدارة مثل هذا المجمع وبالتايل توفري ماسهمة مستدامة وحاسسة لمستقبل جمتمع مزدهر من الفنانني يف قطر. يستند هذا البحث عىل اخلربات الموجودة داخل المجتمع األ كادميي يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر ،وتأليف أفكار بناءة يف الفن والتصميم والعلوم والفنون العامة .يتكون فريقنا من ريس همسوورث ،مدير دائرة الرسم والطباعة ،والدكتور بايراد ليالند ،مدير دائرة العلوم والفنون العامة ،والدكتور يوهان جرانبريغ من قسم التصميم الداخيل ،ورنا رويشد ،واحدة من خرجيات جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر يف التصميم الداخيل. وبدعم استاشريني من القطاع اخلاص أيضا. ركز البحث عىل أربع مراحل رئيسية :الدرااست الميدانية الدولية؛ مجع البيانات من اجلهات المعنية المحلية ،التصميم المادي لهذا المجمع ،وخطة العمل لتنفيذ المجمع. تم االنهتاء من مجيع هذه المراحل هبدف تقديم النتاجئ إىل األطراف المعنية يف قطر .وفيما يزيد قليال عن اثىن عرش هشرا ،قمنا بإجراء أكرث من 150مقابلة وحلقة نقاش وأكملنا حوايل أكرث من 100زيارة ميدانية إىل 22موقعا يف 13دولة :الصني واليابان وإيطاليا وألمانيا والربازيل وكولومبيا والواليات المتحدة وكندا ،وكذلك دولة اإلمارات العربية المتحدة واندونيسيا وهونغ كونغ وسنغافورة وحىت قطر. عىل الرغم من المحتوى السيايس والثقايف الفريد لكل من هذه المواقع ،إال أن أهمية األعمال اليت ميارهسا الفنانون داخل هذه االستوديوهات هو ما يربط بيهنا .يعمل الفنانون المعارصون باستخدام جمموعة واسعة من المواد وتعتمد قدرهتم عىل االبتكار عىل قر هبم من هذه المواد وقر هبم من ذوي اخلربة يف استخدام هذه المواد .التقينا يف بكني مع عدد من الفنانني األمريكيني الناشئني والذين استقروا يف بكني من أجل تطوير وصقل تطبيقاهتم العملية ومماراسهتم وخرباهتم .كان العديد من هؤالء الفنانني يعملون يف النحت بالسرياميك أوالزجاج ونقلوا منحوتاهتم إىل الصني ،ليس فقط ألن تكلفة إناشء استوديو يف الصني كانت أقل بكثري عهنا يف الواليات المتحدة األمريكية ،ولكن أيضا ألهنم كانوا يسعون للوصول إىل المعرفة والمهارة اليت كانت موجودة يف العديد من المحالت التجارية والصناعية الصغرية يف بكني .ظهرت أيضا أهمية القرب من المواد والمهارات التكميلية جلية يف بيرتااسنتا ،إيطاليا ،واحدة من أقدم المجتمعات الفنية ومراكز اإلنتاج الفين يف العالم ،والمعروفة جيدا بتوفريها الرخام ألعمال مايكل أجنلو .بدأت بيرتااسنتا كموقع يرتبط مبواد معينة ،وأصبحت هذه المواد حافزا ولد طاقات جديدة كانت وراء جناحه المستمر .وفرة هذا الرخام العايل اجلودة واحلرفيني المهرة منح المنطقة سمعة عالمية ال مثيل لها .تم استرياد حجارة من مجيع أحناء العالم لبيرتااسنتا ،من اجلرانيت السويدي إىل الصخور االردوازية االسبانية .بعد ذلك ،بدأ الفنانون بزيارة بيرتااسنتا ليس لتوافر الرخام فقط ،ولكن أيضا للفرص المتاحة امامهم للقيام باعمالهم الفنية باستخدام العديد من المواد واالستفادة من مهارات العاملني يف ماسبك المعادن واستوديوهات السرياميك يف هذه المدينة. يف بورتالند وفيالدلفيا ،وجدنا عددا من المجمعات الفنية والمعارض مثل مبىن كرين، و Disjectaواحتاد ييل .بدأت هذه األماكن ببعض الفنانني مع القليل من الموارد النقدية ،ولكن بقدر كبري من الطموح .عند سؤالهم عن النجاح كانت هذه المدن جمتمعات فنية متنامية ،علقت العديد من موضوعاتنا عىل الثقافة الرائدة لمدينهتم،
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In pursuit of developing a vision for an artists’ community in Qatar, VCUQatar was granted funding by the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) to research and develop a design for a multi-artist studio complex, or ‘Art Souq,’ in Doha. This research culminated in a comprehensive plan for construction and management of such a complex and thereby provides a sustainable and critical contribution to the future of a thriving artists’ community within Qatar. This research builds on expertise found within the VCUQatar academic community, synthesizing critical thought in art, design and the liberal arts and sciences. Our team consists of Rhys Himsworth, director of Painting and Printmaking, Dr. Byrad Yyelland, director of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Assistant Professor Dr. Johan Granberg of Interior Design, as well as Interior Design alumna, Rana Rwaished. The project is also supplemented by additional support from private consultants. The research has been focused in four main phases: international field studies; data from local stakeholders; the physical design of a studio complex; and a business plan for the complex’s implementation. All were completed with the view to present the findings to interested parties within Qatar. In just over 12 months, we have conducted more than 150 interviews and focus groups and completed approximately 100 site visits in 22 locations across 13 countries including China, Japan, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Columbia, the U.S. and Canada, as well as visits to the U.A.E, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Qatar itself. What links this collection of locations, each with its own unique cul’tural and political context, is the importance of the act of ‘making within the artist’s studio practice. Contemporary artists work in a wide variety of materials and their ability to create is dependent upon proximity to materials and to the accompanying expertise of those familiar with these materials. In Beijing, we met with a number of emerging American artists who had settled there in order to realize their practice. Many of these artists were working with sculpture, glass or ceramics and had relocated to China, not only because the cost of setting up a studio was much more manageable there than in the United States, but also because they sought access to knowledge and skill sets found in many of the small industrial fabrication shops within Beijing. The importance of proximity to materials and supplementary skill sets was also clearly evident in Pietrasanta, Italy, one of the oldest artists’ communities and art production centers in the world, well known for supplying Michelangelo with marble for his works. Pietrasanta had begun as a location
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أو تراهثم الصناعي ،ومرة أخرى سلطت الضوء عىل أهمية القرب من األدوات والمواد والبنية التحتية .وعلق العديد من الفنانني أيضا عىل عدم وجود أسواق فنية حمددة يف هذه المواقع وعدم وجود قاعدة فنية موضوعية .وبالتايل ،فالموضوع الاسئد يف هذا البحث هو أن الفنانني ال ينجذبون إىل األماكن اليت يستطيعون فهيا بيع اعمالهم أو حىت عرضها ولكهنم يسعون وراء األماكن اليت يستطيعون فهيا ابتكار وإنتاج أعمالهم. هدفنا هو إدراك وفهم طبيعة الماسحات واالستوديوهات الفنية .دراسة مناذج ناجحة لمجتمعات الفنانني .وطرح أسئلة عىل نطاق واسع حول قرب وبعد الفنانني عن هذه المجتمعات .نسعى لالستفادة من هذا البنك من البيانات المتنوعة ثقافيا وجغرافيا للتوصل إىل تصميم وخطة عمل لمجمع استوديوهات الفنانني يف قطر .مجعنا يف هذا البحث كل البيانات اليت مجعناها حمليا من المنطقة ،مبا يف ذلك أكرث من 40جمموعة من الفنانني القطريني وفناين الرشق األوسط والفنانني المغرتبني ،أاستذتنا وطالبنا والعديد من القامئني عىل المعارض والمخرجني والفنيني والذين يشكلون جمتمع الفن التشكييل يف قطر. حتليل البيانات اليت تم مجعها من المواقع الدولية وفرت األاسس ل "سوق الفن" المقرتح. أظهرت هذه الدراسة أنه من أجل ازدهار الفنانني يف قطر خالل السنوات القادمة ،عىل الدولة أن تقوم بتوفري المرافق والبنية التحتية اليت من أشهنا أن تسمح لهم ومتكهنم من القيام مبماراسهتم الفنية وأيضا تطوير وإبقاء احلوار مع غريهم من الفنانني الممارسني. حبيث يصل هذا احلوار إىل ذوي اخلربة من غري الموجودين داخل حدود كلية الفنون أو اجلامعة .حيتاج الفنانون إىل الوقت لمزاولة وتطبيق أعمالهم ومماراسهتم ونضوجها ،فرتة حضانة يتمكنوا خاللها من النمو داخل المجتمعات اإلبداعية ،سواء المحلية أوالبعيدة. وإىل الماسحات المادية حيث ميكهنم إجراء البحوث .لذا فهذا المرشوع يقرتح الهيكل المادي للفنانني ،و أيضا االسرتاتيجيات التنظيمية لتطوير جمتمع مزدهر وفعال من الفنانني. للوصول إىل 'األسواق' التقليدية كنموذج لمجمع الفنانني ،أجرينا أحباثا واسعة حول قضايا مثل توفري أنظمة اإلضاءة الطبيعية ،نظام الماشة ووصول المركبات ،هياكل مرنة التصميم، ومهنجية تصميم تعليمية تعزز المديونية للمهارات والمعارف بني الفنانني واحلرفيني وغريهم من أفراد المجتمع داخل هذا المجمع .وخيتتم البحث مبجموعة من الرسومات المعمارية والتصاميم ،باإلضافة إىل خطة عمل مدهتا 10سنوات. يشمل جممع استوديوهات الفنانني جمموعة من االستوديوهات بأحجام خمتلفة واليت ميكن توسيعها أو تقليصها حسب احتياجات الفنانني ،باإلضافة إىل استوديو بتصميم مرن ميكن أن يستوعب جمموعة من المماراست والتطبيقات المختلفة ،من التصوير إىل النحت، والرسم باستخدام واسئل جديدة وخمتلفة .وهبذا المجمع المتطور تكنولوجي ًا نضمن أن نتمكن من تلبية احتياجات الغد ،مع األخذ باالعتبار أن مماراست الفنانني تتغري بتغري التكنولوجيا والعمليات اجلديدة المتاحة .يشمل التصميم كذلك مرافق إنتاجية ضخمة وعالمية يف التصنيع الرقمي ،واألشغال المعدنية ،وورش اخلشب ،والطباعة ،وكذلك التصوير الفوتوغرايف والفيديو .كما يأيت هذا التصميم مرنا ليتم تعديله حسب حاجات ومتطلبات الفنانني الذين سيعملون يف هذا المجمع يف المراحل األولية ،مع حتديد ماسحة للمرافق مثل المقصف ،والمعرض ،والمكتبة ،والمخازن لتخزين المواد والموارد الفنية. هذ اإلدراك المتطور وغري المألوف يسمح لمجتمع الفنانني والممارسني فيه حتديد تطور المجمع عىل أاسس تطور االحتياجات اخلاصة هبم. تقر نقطة االنطالق يف هذا البحث اقرتاحا اشمال هو أكرث تعقيدا بكثري من جمرد إناشء هيكل مادي .ال بد من النظر إىل االسرتاتيجيات المستدامة كحلول متكاملة ،كشبكة اجتماعية وفنية تتمحور حول الفن .ولذلك يتم تقديم التصميم المقرتح ليس كبناء مادي فقط ولكن أيضا كوحدة متكاملة. باالطالع عىل النماذج الناجحة للمجتمعات الفنية مثل بيرتااسنتا ،تم تصميم "سوق الفن" لتعزيز االستدامة من خالل االستفادة من مهارات ومعارف أفراد المجتمع حبيث يتم االحتفاظ هبذه المعرفة داخل المجمع حىت عندما يغادر األفراد .لدعم هذه المديونية قمنا بالبحث عن األدوات والمعدات المطلوبة لتشغيل هذا المجمع ،وكذلك التحقيق يف المهارات المطلوبة للموظفني إلدارة تلك المرافق ،واليت ميكن استدانهتا واالحتفاظ هبا
associated with a particular material, and this material became a catalyst that generated a new energy behind its continuous success. The cumulation of high quality marble and skilled craftsmen gave the region an unmatched global reputation; stones from all over the world were imported to Pietrasanta, from Swedish granite to Spanish slate. Subsequently, artists began to visit Pietrasanta not simply for its marble, but also for the opportunity to do work in a multitude of materials and to utilize the skills of those working in the town’s foundries and ceramics studios. In Portland and Philadelphia, we found a number of artist-run studio complexes and galleries such as the Crane Building, Disjecta and Yale Union. These spaces were initiated by artists with few monetary resources, but a great deal of ambition. When asked about the success these towns have had in developing artist communities, many of our subjects commented on the pioneering culture of their city, or their city’s industrial heritage, again highlighting the importance of proximity to tools and infrastructure for making. Many artists also commented on the absence of a defined art market in these locations and the lack of a substantive collector base. Thus, a predominant theme to emerge in this research is that artists do not gravitate to where they can sell work, or even exhibit it, rather they move to where they can produce their work. Our objective is to seek and understand the nature of artists’ studio spaces; examine models of successfully functioning artist communities; and to ask broader questions regarding the attraction and retention of artists in these communities. We draw upon this bank of culturally and geographically diverse data to inform the design and business plan for an artist studio complex in Qatar. We have combined this research with data collection in the local region, including more than 40 focus groups with Qatari artists, artists of the MENA region, expatriate artists, VCUQatar faculty, VCUQatar students and the many curators, gallery directors and art professionals that make up Qatar’s fine art community. The analysis of data collected from international and data sites provide the basis of the proposed ’‘Art Souq. This research has shown us that in order for artists in Qatar to thrive in the coming years, the country must provide facilities and infrastructure that will allow them to sustain their practice and further, to develop and maintain dialogue with other practicing artists. This dialogue must reach beyond the sort experienced within the confines of an art college or university. Artists need time for their practices to mature—an incubation period during which they can grow within creative communities, both local and remote; and physical spaces where they can conduct research. This project therefore proposes the physical structure for artists, but also organizational strategies for developing a thriving and interactive artist community. Informed by the traditional ‘souq’ as a model for artists’ complex, we conducted extensive research into issues such as the provision
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Rendering of internal view of the Art Souq
طوال حياة المجمع .توصلنا لبعض هذه البحوث من خالل حتديد مهنجيات جمربة وخمتربة، فهم تصميم االستوديوهات ،ومجع سيااست وإجراءات وأاسليب أفضل المماراست من المواقع الدولية .وقد تم حبث آخر عن طريق التعرف عىل اخلربات المحلية داخل جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر بأشن أفضل المماراست إلدارة هذه المرافق. فباإلضافة إىل األحباث المذكورة أعاله ،تم تطوير خطة العمل من خالل التاشور مع أطراف خارجية مهنم خرباء يف خطط العمل وماسحني الكمية باإلضافة إىل اخلرباء من جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر .تم وضع خطة عمل لمدة 10سنوات وتفاصيل التكاليف لتسعة مراحل من برناجم البناء وكذلك تكلفة تشغيل الربناجم .كما شملت اخلطة أيضا تكاليف المعدات والمواصفات واالحتياجات من الموظفني والربجمة والهياكل اإلدارية. تم التوصل إىل احللول اليت شكلت عىل مدى األهشر الثمانية عرش الماضية من قبل جمموعة من أفضل المماراست اليت تم مالحظهتا دوليا وكذلك جهودنا المتواصلة لتقديم التوصيات المناسبة للظروف الثقافية واالجتماعية واالقتصادية يف قطر .وبذلك نكون قد اجزتنا المرحلة األوىل من مرشوع أكرب حيث جيتمع عدد كبري من الفنانني وأمناء المتاحف والمعارض الفنية ،وصناع السيااست ،والرعاة والمؤساست المختلفة معا جلعله حقيقة واقعة .هذا التصميم المرن والقانوين والمعد من اجل التعليم ل "سوق الفن" مكنه من أن يكون مبثابة مركزا لألحباث يتم فيه عكس خربة الفنانني واحلرفيني إىل ما فيه تطوير المجمع يف المستقبل. هذا البحث هو دعوة إىل جمتمع الفن يف قطر ومؤيديه للدخول يف حوار حول تطوير المجتمع القطري من الفنانني .نأمل أن يكون "سوق الفن" احلافز الذي سيمكن هذا المجتمع من التوسع واالزدهار خالل السنوات المقبلة.
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of natural lighting, pedestrian and vehicle access systems, flexible design structures, and a didactic design methodology that enables and fosters the leveraging of skills and knowledge amongst artists, artisans and other members of the studio complex community. The research concludes with a set of architectural drawings and renderings, in addition to a 10-year business plan. The studio complex includes a range of studio sizes that can expand or contract, depending on artists' needs, as well as a flexible studio design that can accommodate a range of different practices, from photography to sculpture, painting to new media. This ensures that, as the complex evolves, it can accommodate the needs of tomorrow, knowing that the artist’s practice changes as new technologies and processes become available. With this in mind, the design includes state-of-the-art production facilities in digital fabrication, metal work, woodshop, printmaking, as well as photography and video. Its design is also flexible enough to be determined by the artists who occupy the complex in the initial phases, with space provisions for facilities such as a cafeteria, gallery, library, and art supply store. Such responsiveness is both novel and forward-thinking as it allows the community itself to determine the evolution of the complex based on its own evolving needs.
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02 01 Pietrasanta Foundry, Italy 02 Example of a studio space at the Fotanian Studio Complex, Hong Kong
18 — Issue 3
R E S E A RC H
The departure point for this research acknowledges that a comprehensive proposal is far more complex than merely creating a physical structure. Sustainable strategies have to be seen as holistic solutions, as a socio-technical network built around art. The proposed design is therefore offered as a construct not only of physical space but also of community. Informed by the successful model of artist communities such as Pietrasanta, the Art Souq is designed to enhance sustainability through leveraging skills and knowledge of community members so that this knowledge is retained within the complex even when individual members leave. To support this leveraging we researched the tools and equipment required to run such a complex, as well as investigated the skills required to staff those facilities, which could be leveraged and retained throughout the life of the complex. Some of this research was informed by identifying tried and tested methodologies, understanding the design of studios, and collecting policies, procedures and methods of best practice at international sites. Other research was done through identifying local expertise within VCUQatar regarding best practices for running such facilities. In addition to the research described above, the business plan was developed through consultation with outside parties including business plan experts and quantity surveyors, as well as experts within VCUQatar. A 10-year plan has been developed, which details estimated costs for a nine-phase building program as well as program operation. It also includes equipment costs and specifications, staffing requirements, programming and management structures. The solutions we have formed over the course of the last 18 months are informed by a combination of best practices observed internationally as well as our informed effort to make recommendations appropriate to the cultural, social, and economic conditions of Qatar. We see this as the first stage of a much greater project whereby a number of artists, curators, gallerists, policy makers, patrons and various institutions come together to make it a reality. The Art Souq’s design is flexible, didactic and organic, enabling it to serve as a research center within which the experience of artists and craftsmen is fed back into the complex’s future development. We see this research as an invitation to Qatar’s art community and its supporters of fine art to engage in a conversation about the development of Qatar’s community of artists. We hope the Art Souq will act as a catalyst that will enable this community to expand and thrive through the coming years.
Issue 3 — 19
S M A L L D I S C OV E R I E S
big impact DR. KHALED SAOUD
20 — Issue 3
S AV I N G Q ATA R ' S H E R I TAG E W I T H N A N OT EC H N O LO GY
الحفاظ على التراث الثقافي لدولة قطر باستخدام تكنولوجيا النانو
د .خالد سعود
قام الدكتور خالد سعود ،األستاذ الماسعد يف الفزيياء ،وطالب جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر إميان إيباال ،دانا الالدكى ،وعمر عزالدين ،والباحث الماسعد الدكتور شوكت سعيد و بنجاح بتصنيع وتركيب مواد متناهية الصغر قادرة عىل متديد عمر الوثائق القدمية والمهرتأة اليت ال ميكن االستغناء عهنا يف البالد والموجودة قبل قرون. حصل مرشوع "احلفاظ عىل الرتاث الثقايف يف قطر باستخدام تكنولوجيا النانو" يف يونيو/ حزيران عام ٢٠١٣عىل منحة برناجم خربة األحباث للطلبة اجلامعيني UREPوقدرها 29,249دوالرا امريكيا من الصندوق القطري لرعاية البحث العلمي .QNRFهتدف هذه المنحة إىل احلفاظ عىل مستندات وأوراق الرتاث الثقايف يف قطر من خالل استخدام أحدث تكنولوجيا النانو. تتعلق تكنولوجيا النانو بتصميم وإناشء واستخدام مواد وهياكل وأجهزة من صنع اإلناسن ،واليت تكون أقل من 100نانومرت يف احلجم .والنانومرت هو واحد من المليار من المرت .ترتبط تكنولوجيا النانو مع نانوالعلوم ،ودراسة مبادئ اجلزيئات والهياكل ذات البعد اخلطي من 100 - 1من النانومرت .أهنا قادرة عىل إنتاج مواد جديدة متاما وحتسني خواص المواد الموجودة ،كما أن اجلسيمات اليت حجمها أقل من 100نانومرت تعرض خصائص سلوكية خمتلفة .هذا اجلانب لمرشوع جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر سمح بالكشف عن طريقة جديدة للحد من اآلثار الضارة للحموضة عىل الوثائق القيمة واليت ال تقدر بثمن يف قطر. مع االعرتاف بأنه ال بد من معاجلة تدهور وثائق الرتاث الثقايف لمنع ضياع التارخي إىل األبد، ومع اقرتاب العديد من كتب منتصف القرن التاسع عرش من النقطة اليت ستجعلهم احلموضة حاسسة جدا يف التعامل معها ،ركز الفريق عىل إجياد العالج ،من خالل تطبيق علم النانو ،لوقف عملية الشيخوخة .باستخدام تركيب الميكروويف ،تنتج هذه التقنية تفاعالت كيميائية أرسع ويف كثري من األحيان أفضل لماسعدة العلماء يف حتقيق أهدافهم، تم تطبيق مواد النانو من هيدروكسيد الكالسيوم وهيدروكسيد الباريوم عىل عينات من األوراق اجلديدة والقدمية الختبار فعاليهتا يف تعزيز قوهتا .مع إجياد اإليثانول كأفضل مذيب ،تم رش العالج -يف شكل اسئل -عىل النصوص وحتليل النتاجئ. كانت النتاجئ ،وكما قال الدكتور خالد :ميكن اآلن إعطاء الكتب ألف سنة إضافية من العمر" .تتلف كل األوراق بسبب واحد فقط ،احلموضة ،فهي تضعف وتدمر يف هناية المطاف األلياف اليت تشكل الورقة .من خالل هذا العالج عملنا عىل معادلة احلموضة بنفس الطريقة اليت نقوم هبا مبعادلة احلموضة المعوية حببة من الدواء .هذه العملية ستمنح الورقة القوة للبقاء عىل قيد احلياة لسنوات عديدة قادمة". "ميكننا يف المستقبل ،أن ننظر أيضا يف كيفية منع اصفرار األوراق ،باإلضافة إىل تقويهتا .إال أننا لم نكن نريد يف هذه المرحلة تغيري لون الورق ،ألنه جزء من سالمة تراثنا الثقايف .ركزنا عىل تعزيز قوة الورقة ،لمنعها من التلف والتدهور ،ومن خالل هذا البحث ،فإننا نعيدها مرة أخرى إىل احلياة". يف حني كان الدكتور خالد مسؤوال عن فكرة البحث ،إال انه يرى أن جناحه كان نتيجة جلهد الفريق ويثين بالكامل عىل الطالب اجلامعيني الثالثة .وقال" :ليس لدهيم خلفية علمية - هم مجيعا طالب كلية التصميم -وكان حتديا كبريا بالنسبة لهم الماشركة يف مثل هذا المرشوع" وأضاف" :من أكرث ما يسعدين ويفرحين رؤية وجوه الطالب أول ما حيصلون عىل النتاجئ اليت عملوا للحصول علهيا .كان العمل معهم والتوصل اىل احللول اجلديدة مكافأة جمزية جدا بالنسبة يل ،وأعتقد أن هذا يدل عىل أن أي شخص ،من أي خلفية كان ،ميكنه حتقيق أي يشء إذا ما صمم عىل القيام بذلك".
Issue 3 — 21
VCUQatar’s Assistant Professor of Physics Dr. Khaled Saoud, undergraduate students Imen Ibala, Dana El Ladki, Omar Ezzeldeen and Research Associate Dr. Shaukat Saeed have successfully synthesized nanomaterials capable of extending the lifespan of the country’s irreplaceable but fragile documents by centuries. The project, ‘Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Qatar Using Nanotechnology,’ was awarded a $29,249 Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) grant by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) in June 2013, and aims at conserving and preserving Qatar’s paper-based cultural heritage through the use of cutting edge nanotechnology. Nanotechnology concerns the design, creation, and use of man-made materials, structures and devices that are less than 100 nanometers in size (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). Nanotechnology interconnects with nanoscience, the study of the principles of molecules and structures with a linear dimension of 1-100 to nanometers. It is able to produce entirely new materials and improve the properties of existing materials, as particles less than 100 nanometers in size display unique behavioral properties. These properties have allowed researchers on the VCUQatar project to uncover a new method that hinders the damaging effects of acidity on Qatar’s invaluable documents. Recognizing that the deterioration of cultural heritage objects must be addressed to prevent the loss of history, and that many books from the mid-19th century are fast approaching a point where acidity will make them too delicate to handle, the team focused on finding a treatment, through the application of nanoscience, to halt the aging process. Using microwave synthesis, a technique that produces a quicker and often more effective chemical reaction, the nanomaterials of calcium hydroxide and barium hydroxide were applied to samples of new and old paper to test their effectiveness in reinforcing its strength. Ethanol was found to be the best solvent; the treatment – in liquid form – was sprayed onto texts and the results were analyzed. The outcome, Dr. Saoud says, is that “dying” books could now be given as many as 1,000 more years of life. “All paper is damaged because of one thing, acidity, as it weakens and eventually destroys the fibers that make up the paper. We looked to neutralize acidity through this treatment in the same way you would neutralize heartburn by taking a tablet. The process will give the paper the strength to survive for many, many years to come”. “In the future, we can also look at how to prevent paper yellowing, as well as strengthening it. At this stage, however, we did not want to change the color of the paper, because it is part of the integrity of our
R E S E A RC H
cultural heritage. We focused on enhancing the strength of the paper, to stop damage and deterioration, and, through this research, we are bringing it back to life.” While Dr. Saoud was responsible for the research concept, he sees its success as a team effort and is full of praise for the three undergraduate assistants. “They do not have a scientific background – they are all design students – and it was a big challenge for them to be involved in a project like this,” he says. “What I enjoy most is seeing the students’ faces when they first get the results they have been working toward. To work with them and to come up with a breakthrough has been so rewarding for me, and I believe this demonstrates that anybody, from any background, can achieve anything if they are determined to do so.” The results may have wider implications. Dr. Saoud believes the material produced may also be used as a means to reduce carbon dioxide; as a flame retardant; as reinforcing material in plastic materials to enhance thermal and mechanical properties and as an additive to concrete, making it of potential interest to the construction industry. In terms of cultural heritage, a possible next step is to adapt the process and examine its effect on textiles. The team has filed an invention disclosure on these materials and is in the process of developing a full patent. The results of their research was first presented by team member Imen Ibala at the EuroMed 2014: International Conference on Cultural Heritage held November 3-8 in Limassol, Cyprus and next, at the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference 2014 (ARC '14) which was held November 18 and 19 at the Qatar National Convention Centre. “We want this research to be a gift to the nation, repaying this country for its encouragement and support,” said Dr. Saoud. “The project is dedicated to members of the young generation of Qataris who are working hard to build their nation and breed new knowledge to ensure it has a great future, while also maintaining their cultural heritage. That is very important to Qatar. “Between the old and new generations, there must be a link, not a gap. We want to expand our knowledge and education, to build a knowledge-based society, but, at the same time, we must never forget our roots.”
22 — Issue 3
مع قول الدكتور خالد ان المواد المنتجة ميكن استخدامها،قد يكون للنتاجئ آثار أوسع كمواد معززة يف المواد البالستيكية، كمثبط للهب،أيضا للحد من ثاين أكسيد الكربون كمادة مضافة إىل اإلسمنت يزيد من فوائده،لتحسني اخلصائص احلرارية والميكانيكية فاخلطوة التالية المحتملة، من حيث الرتاث الثقايف.المحتملة لصناعة البناء والتشييد قدم الفريق اخرتاع بالكشف عن.هي تكيف العملية ودراسة تأثريها عىل المنسوجات .هذه المواد وحنن يف طور عملية تطوير براءة االخرتاع كاملة قامت إميان إيباال—أحد أعضاء الفريق— بعرض نتاجئ أحباهثم األولية يف مؤمتر اليورو قربص، نوفمرب يف ليماسول8–3 والذي عقد خالل الفرتة من2014 أوسطي الدويل كما عرضت النتاجئ يف مؤمتر.والمخصص لتوثيق ومحاية الرتاث الثقايف والمحافظة عليه نوفمرب يف مركز19 و18 والذي عقد يومي2014 ARC مؤسسة قطر السنوي للبحوث .قطر الوطين للمؤمترات نسد هبا جزءا من، "نريد من هذه البحوث أن تكون هدية لألمة:واضاف الدكتور خالد "يكرس هذا المرشوع إىل جيل الشباب القطري."فضل هذا البلد عىل دعمه وتشجيعه لنا مع احلفاظ،الذين يعملون جبد لبناء أمهتم وتوليد معرفة جديدة لضمان مستقبل عظيم ." هذا أمر مهم جدا لقطر.أيضا عىل تراهثم الثقايف نريد توسيع معرفتنا."ال بد أن يكون هناك ارتباط ال فجوة بني األجيال القدمية واجلديدة جيب علينا أن ال ننىس، يف الوقت نفسه، ولكن، لبناء جمتمع قائم عىل المعرفة،وتعليمنا ."أبدا جذورنا
Taking Research on the Road VCUQatar’s Center for Research, Design and Entrepreneurship
members from the CRD+E, they presented 14 workshops for over 800
(CRD+E) launched the Young Entrepreneur Series (YES) program in
pupils, with each workshop designed to engage specific age groups.
June 2012. YES is an educational incubator that fosters collaboration
The program of activities is now being considered for inclusion in a
between academia and the private sector for research and innovation
national curricular road safety education program being introduced
in projects aligned with the national research priorities identified
to schools throughout Qatar in conjunction with the MOI, SEC and
in Qatar’s National Vision 2030. YES is a collaborative, interdisciplinary
NTSC. In addition, the VCUQatar team was invited to host a workshop
program, which takes on research projects that yield real-world
at the MOI for 12 female trainers who will be tasked with bringing the
applications with local, regional and global impact.
program to schools and supporting its sustainable rollout.
One of the primary objectives of the YES program is to support the
In line with the YES objectives, Al Sharif and Omar were encouraged
technical and professional development of VCUQatar graduates.
to write research papers in collaboration with faculty and to submit to
Participating alumni are mentored and supported by CRD+E staff,
conferences. The paper titled “From Commission to Social Movement:
VCUQatar faculty and external mentors. ONE SECOND, Qatar’s national road safety campaign launched in June 2013, is the result of a Maersk Oil Qatar-sponsored project carried out by a YES team including alumnae Haneen Al Sharif and Hadeer Omar. Over the past 20 months the team worked on ONE SECOND, researching and designing the brand, creating a comprehensive visual identity, working with advertising agencies and liaising
Research-led design in action” was selected for the Cumulus Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2014 and the A2RU Conference in Michigan, USA in November 2014. In addition, the team presented the project at the ITS Road Safety Conference in Doha in September 2014 where the ONE SECOND campaign won the prestigious award for Best Road Safety Campaign in the Middle East. The YES team, including new members Najla Al Khalifa and Catherine
with governmental bodies including the Ministry of Interior (MOI),
Fe Calma Chiuco, continue to work on road safety initiatives and are
the Supreme Council of Health (SEC) and the National Traffic Safety
now focusing on a unique study related to third-level male students,
Committee (NTSC) to create and collaborate on a number of road
who present the highest risk on Qatar’s roads. The study is conducted
safety campaigns and educational student road safety programs. After developing an extracurricular education program designed to teach students about road safety through awareness and engage-
in collaboration with Northwestern University, Qatar University, VCUQatar faculty and the MOI, and with the ongoing support by Maersk Oil Qatar.
ment, the team hosted a day of game and activities at the Doha English Speaking School with students aged 3-12. Along with two faculty
R E S E A R C H S TAT I S T I C S 2 01 3 –2 014
107
dissemination / total faculty 61
P R E S E N TAT I O N S
50
sponsored research GRANTS & CORPORATE
EXHIBITIONS
29
$ 2, 2 0 3 , 9 78
P U B L I S H E D A RT I C L E S
19 PUBLISHED POEMS
21
scholarships
CRITICAL REVIEWS
9
$ 9 7, 5 0 0
BOOK CHAPTERS
3 C U R AT O R I A L
Issue 3 — 23
C U LT I VAT I N G Creative Thinking
‘Snail Print Factory’ by Hana Al Saadi
24 — Issue 3
Of Snails & Spin Paintings: Hana Al Saadi Wins Damien Hirst Art Challenge VCUQatar Painting and Printmaking junior Hana Al Saadi’s installation, ‘Snail Print Factory,’ won the Damien Hirst Art Challenge, a competition set up in conjunction with Relics, Hirst’s first solo exhibition in Qatar and the Middle East. The prize was an all expenses paid trip to London to tour one of Hirst’s studios, meet the artist in person and help create one of his famous spin paintings. Al Saadi’s winning work, ‘Snail Print Factory,’ is a piece of installation art that explores three important stages of the natural lifecycle: eating, mating and reproduction. Within the micro-ecosystem, the snails leave slime trails on paper that tell the stories of their individual journeys, encounters and new beginnings inside the tank. Of the work, Hirst commented: “I love art like Hana’s that asks questions and makes you think and is difficult to define, and I love art that involves a living element, it makes the art feel more real. It looks simple too and is universal and communicates across international boundaries, which all great art should.” Al Saadi has loved Hirst’s work for a long time. She first met Hirst at the unveiling of ‘The Miraculous Journey’ in Doha and hoped to meet him again and have the opportunity to one day learn from him. When she heard about the challenge, she found herself thinking about it constantly. “After seeing Hirst’s show Relics, most of his ideas and concepts were stuck in my head. When my silkscreen professor Zach Stensen gave me a project named ’Untraditional Print’ to work on, I started thinking of using animals because of the Hirst show.”
Speaker Curator at VCUQatar) and Hala Mohammed Al Khalifa (Head of Artists in Residence Program, Qatar Museums). In London, Al Saadi says she felt very welcomed by Hirst, his assistants and all those working with him. “I got to see pieces from his new collection at his studio and learned some of the techniques his assistants use to make such wonderful and detailed paintings and artworks.” At the studio, Al Saadi and her sister made a large circular spin painting on canvas that Hirst intends to donate to a charity. They also each made four small paintings on cut paper (in the shape of a skull, a heart and two different species of butterflies) that Hirst signed and presented to them. Al Saadi, in turn, gave him a print of the Snail Print Factory, a show of thanks for selecting her work as winner of the challenge. Since the late 1980s, Hirst has shocked and delighted the art world with works that explore the complex relationship between art, life and death. Relics, which presented the largest collection of Hirst’s work ever assembled, ran in Qatar from October 2013 through January 2014 and was curated by internationally renowned writer and curator Francesco Bonami.
Al Saadi’s original idea involved collecting ants for an ant farm in which they would climb over a piece of paper to get to a sugar cube. While she was sourcing the large quantity of ants for her farm, she came upon some snails. “When I saw them moving, I changed my ant idea to snails, because they are easier to collect and can print on paper.” Sixty-one submissions were entered in categories that included painting, photography, graphic design, sculpture, illustration and mixed media and were judged by a panel made up of Hirst, Jason Beard (Creative Director of Hirst’s publishing company, Other Criteria), Caitlín Doherty (Exhibitions and
Issue 3 — 25
CU LT I VAT I N G C R E AT I V E T H I N K I N G
Designing Water Awareness Water is one of the planet’s most valuable resources, and one of its most imperiled. In dry regions of the world such as Qatar, issues of consumption, conservation, and utilization are at the forefront of discussion and debate. Qatar, one of the most water-scarce countries in the region also reports one of the world’s highest per capita water consumption rates at 500 liters per day. In 2011, the World Bank indicated that over the next decades, the region will face drastic water shortages, owing about 20% of the scarcity to climate change and 80% to a steep increase in demand. As Qatar’s population continues to rise and the demand for water supply grows, creative and community based approaches are needed to achieve sustainable development. To help raise awareness about water sustainability issues in the city of Doha, graphic design students in the “Design for a Sustainable Future” elective course explored the subject of water sustainability using multiple formats, interactive media, and the elements of both 2D and 3D space. Each student chose a different water-related theme and researched issues of consumption, personal habits, and desalinization. The primary aim of the project was to encourage a critically engaged application of design craft and design thinking to current and future water challenges through a process of research, conceptualization and construction. A culminating exhibition on campus at the end of the semester encouraged visitors to shift their water consumption practices to more conservative ones.
26 — Issue 3
CU LT I VAT I N G C R E AT I V E T H I N K I N G
TALK TO THE SOUL DID YOU MEAN SOLE?
SCAN TO WATCH
#SOLENOTSOUL?, #AUTOCORRECT, #LOWESTOFTHELOW, #3EIBYAMAN, #YOURSOLEISNOTAMIRROR MAJDULIN NASRALLAH, WITH PROFS. N. DAVIS & S. MUSCOLINO, ARTF 132/134 SURFACE AND TIME RESEARCH, SPRING 2014. VIDEO URL: HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/90637798
Almost #3EIB Social Stop Motion / Social Patterns Developed as a collaborative classroom project in the Art Foundation
In contrast to haram practices, which are forbidden within Islam,
program under the leadership of Assistant Professors Simone Muscolino
3eib refers to socially defined behaviors, which are not forbidden,
and Nathan Davis, students from the Time Studio and Surface Research
but are generally not accepted by the community. These vary
classes investigated the concept of 3eib—the Arabic word used in Qatar
widely between families, regions and social classes. By asking ques-
for ‘socially inappropriate practices.’
tions about prevalent social norms, the project opened a dialogue,
Students were asked to become primary researchers, by first observing local customs, and then visually defining the concept of 3eib through
giving students and faculty the opportunity to learn about cultural differences and similarities in a studio setting.
posters and stop-motion videos.
Branding the Big One: VCUQatar Graphic Design Students Submit World Cup Designs The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy selected the designs of six sophomore graphic design students at VCUQatar for inclusion in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar brand guidelines. The students designed pictograms of iconic Qatari landmarks and symbols of culture and Arabic calligraphy monograms representing stadia precincts. The six winners whose designs were selected are AlDana Al Hajri, Abdul Rahman Anwar, Yara Al Muftah, Wurood Azzam, Fatima Al-Naimi and Sara Ebrik. Students went through a lengthy research process, assessing the history of Qatar’s culture and design heritage, resulting in the production of 200 different designs that communicate Qatar’s diverse history. “The opportunity to create work for professional organizations brings the best out in students and the quality of work they produced on this project was on par with a professional design studio,” says VCUQatar Graphic Design Assistant Professor Michael Hersrud. “Engaging in real world design challenges gave the students an amazing opportunity to put their skills into practice,” says Muneera Spence, chair of the Graphic Design department. “This initiative enabled the faculty at VCUQatar to embed the real-world project in the classroom while engaging students to learn to respond to design challenges—it provides students with invaluable experience that they can add to their personal portfolios and CVs.”
Issue 3 — 27
CU LT I VAT I N G C R E AT I V E T H I N K I N G
01
01 02 03
Still from ‘The World is Not Black and White’ by Maryam Al Essa ‘True Identity’ by Emelina Soares ‘Smart Man’ by Ayaz Rauf
02
03
In Living Color: VCUQatar Students, Alumna Win Create & Inspire Award VCUQatar Painting and Printmaking students Emelina Soares and
Al-Essa, who currently works as a graphic designer at Mathaf: Arab
Ayaz Rauf, and Graphic Design alumna Maryam Al-Essa were the
Museum of Modern Art, explored how Arab culture is viewed by outsid-
three winners from Qatar of the Create & Inspire 2014 award. The
ers in her still-photography film. “My project relates to the theme
theme of this year's competition was “The World is Not Black & White.”
through a direct message which starts off with just seeing the back of two Qataris which is apparently very plain and simple but then from
“It was challenging to generate an idea because I wished for
the front all the colors they are wearing and their styles shows the
it to be personal. Now, that very idea is what I hope my upcoming
opposite…Each individual is very different in their own way. We are not
works will revolve around,” says Soares. Her winning entry, a portrait
black and white.”
featuring a composition of a picture and textures from rugs around the world, drew inspiration from her faith and heritage and speaks of an identity exploration which she seeks to unfold as an artist. Rauf’s entry featured a black and white picture of a now-demolished store in Doha’s downtown area of Msheireb, raising questions about the consequences of Qatar’s rapid modernization.
Create & Inspire, a competition run by the Crossway Foundation, was open to 16-25 year old artists, designers, filmmakers and photographers in the UK, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE with the prize being a two-week creative journey to Brazil for 12 winners. Winners were selected from 35 shortlisted candidates, out of some hundreds of entries, by a team of judges that included Qatari artists, art magazine editors and prominent officials at the Museum of Islamic Art and the Msheireb Art Centre.
28 — Issue 3
CU LT I VAT I N G C R E AT I V E T H I N K I N G
Writing the Script: A Course in Arabic & Bilingual Type Design The Graphic Design department recently offered an elective course
To conclude the semester, students compiled portfolios of their
in Arabic & bilingual type design to senior students. The course was
completed typeface concepts to be reviewed by internationally
co-taught by Assistant Professors Basma Hamdy and Jordan Gushwa,
renowned bilingual type designer, Tarek Atrissi. The mentorship carries
and introduced the calligraphic principles of Arabic script, focusing on
with it the potential for future development of the concepts for use
the styles of Kufi and Naskh. Students first developed an understand-
in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign. In this way, student
ing of lettering and moved on to draw a full basic Arabic character
designers at VCUQatar become more acquainted with the commer-
set. Using a variety of software and font authoring tools, student work
cial application of design, and the process of bringing learned skills
was then translated into a digital format, which allowed for testing
to reality in a global campaign.
and potential professional use of the original hand-drawn letters as an OpenType font. Instilling students with an appreciation for Arabic type design is a key objective of the Graphic Design curriculum at VCUQatar. “With typography being the foundation of graphic design, it is crucial that we have more type designers in the region who are trained in Arabic,” says Hamdy. “I believe students with a deep interest in type design can become professionals in the field. This will allow them to contribute to the preservation of its past, but also its contextualization for Qatar's future.”
Issue 3 — 29
CU LT I VAT I N G C R E AT I V E T H I N K I N G
01
02
03
01 ‘Chakra’ by Samreen Chakra 02 ‘Prayery’ by Othman Khunji 03 ‘Soul Maker’ by Malaz Elgemiabby
30 — Issue 3
CU LT I VAT I N G C R E AT I V E T H I N K I N G
A Spin on the Series: MFA Students Transform Old ‘Souvenirs’ into Something New As part of a performance design project, three VCUQatar Master of
Zahra’s ‘Charkha’ involves the repurposing of a spinning wheel, an
Fine Arts (MFA) students were asked to take an existing object, prefer-
apparatus used for centuries in the production of yarns and threads,
ably traditional, and redesign it as a machine with a different use. The
into a device that creates lanterns.
intention was to bridge the gap between manufacturing and customization, by creating a series of unique objects that blend the language of mass production with that of traditional craft processes. While learning to see an object not just as static and physical, but also as the sum of function, time and behaviors, the students built production process /making machines able to embed multiple meanings and produce concrete outcomes. Each machine represents a conceptual framework, merging the effective production of something with deeper social implications and a strong narrative inspired by a local behavior, ritual or personal memory. The inventions – ‘Prayery’ by Othman Khunji; ‘Charkha’ by Samreen Zahra and ‘Soul Maker’ by Malaz Elgemiabby– were designed, fabricated, performed and visualized by the designers and put forth in a six-and-a-half minute video called ‘Souvenirs.’ The project was a collaboration between two MFA classes taught by Assistant Professors Paolo Cardini and Simone Muscolino.
‘Soul Maker’ is a metaphor for the breath of creation. Elgemiabby’s machine captures a person’s soul or breath, trapping it in a physical orb. The device uses a balloon as a rotational mold that spins a mixture of sand, plaster and water to produce a fragile orb. The device was built in the woodshop with materials sourced from industrial and hardware stores in Qatar. “It was difficult to obtain certain parts in Doha so I used the digital fabrication equipment to design and create the gears,” she says. The plaster mixture took several tries to perfect, as it had to be liquid enough to rotate inside the balloon, while dense enough to hold its shape and dry; the entire process took three months to complete. A video featuring the three projects was shot in two days, and each student made final edits to their segment. The group then collaborated with Doha-based musician John Burrow, to produce original scores for each of the three machines. The video is available to view at vimeo.com/103577107.
‘Prayery’ is a reflection on the power of prayer to enhance and alter reality. Khunji’s device uses the movements of sajud to create a tangible outcome in the form of a Misbah rosary. A result of two months of work, it was fabricated using a variety of materials and processes – carpentry for the frame, 3D printing for the mechanism and UV printing for the beads. “I wanted to target two audiences – children who are learning how to pray and adults who have strayed away from prayer,” said Khunji. “My device was intended to give them a sort of extra incentive to pray by contributing towards the creation of a tangible object (Misbah rosary), every time they prayed. I picked the most powerful position in prayer – bowing down (sajud) – a total surrender to God, as a trigger for the custom-made mechanism,” he added. Once the person praying bows his head, touching it to the prayer mat, the device shifts downwards, triggering the mechanism. Khunji estimates that after a week of regular prayer, the mechanism would have created an 11-bead rosary, a sample of which is featured in his video.
Issue 3 — 31
GLOBAL Experience
01
32 — Issue 3
01,02,05 Graphic Design students in Japan 03 MFA students in Berlin 04 Interior Design students in Paris
02
International Learning Opportunities VCUQatar organizes annual international study experiences for undergraduate and graduate students. These programs provide the opportunity to learn in an international context, work with students from international universities, attend and present at international art and design events, and share the cultural heritage of Qatar and the region. This year, 82 undergraduate VCUQatar students participated in a variety of trips abroad.
03
Fashion Design took 27 students to London, United Kingdom to visit designers, manufacturers, textile suppliers and museums. Five Fashion Design students also completed a four-day workshop with fashion designer Eric Raisina in his fabric factory in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The Graphic Design department took 22 students to Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan where they visited temples, shrines, handicraft centers, the Hosomi Museum, the Bamboo Forest, the 1200 stone statues and Naramachi. In Tokyo, visits included the Tokyo Anime Center, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and the Toei Animation Gallery. The Interior Design Department took 20 students to Paris, France where they visited the Quartier d'affaire de la defense, Palais de Chaillot, Branley Museum, Art Museum (Jean Nouvel), Musee d’Orsay, and Cinematheque Francaise in addition to visiting certain art nouveau buildings and the La Fondation Quartier. Five Painting and Printmaking students went to the Sharjah Art Fair in March a trip
04
that included the Sharjah Biennial, exhibitions, lectures and film screenings that were part of the event. During May 2014 the MFA Department visited Berlin, Germany to attend the DMY International Design Festival. Also on the itinerary were the 8th Annual Berlin Biennial, the Boros Collection, as well as numerous museum and studio visits, giving the students the opportunity to speak with artists, designers, and curators.
05
Issue 3 — 33
G LO B A L E X P E R I E N C E
Flip Books for Fundamentals: Borrowed City at the Biennale Borrowed City, a research project based on informal space occupations, which VCUQatar Assistant Professor Marco Bruno has been developing for the past four years together with Simone Carena and Minji Kim in South Korea, was officially invited to be part of the Korean Pavilion at Fundamentals, the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale directed by Rem Koolhaas. The main output of the research was a book published by Damdi in Seoul in July 2013. The publication was very successful and received the DAM (Deutsches Architekturmuseum) Award for the 2013 Best Architecture Book at the Frankfurt Book Fair. For the Venice exhibition, Assistant Professors Bruno and Simone Muscolino developed an interactive installation called Borrowed City Flip that used automated flipbooks to animate the time-based informal space occupations described in the research. This installation took advantage of Muscolino’s latest research in time-based media which focuses on understanding new forms of video-making, experimenting with new technologies and trying to underline a sort of continuity in the history of moving images. The aim of the Borrowed City Flip Installation was to design and build an exhibition to support the dissemination of the Borrowed City project.
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G LO B A L E X P E R I E N C E
Muscolino’s current projects are based on video loops that explore the concept of the fragment as a module of meaning. They often combine .gif formats, which are currently resurfacing all over the web, with early animation devices giving greater physicality to digitally produced contents. The Borrowed City Flip Installation at the Biennale further developed the many experiments Muscolino has conducted at VCUQatar over the past four years using the Borrowed City contents as a source. Bruno and Muscolino developed and supervised the entire process with Minji Kim, partner and co-author in the Borrowed City research, who managed design of animation and supervision of graphic material included in the book. The installation was located in the Korean Pavilion in the Giardini della Biennale. It consisted of 20 flipbook kits placed on a custom designed metal rack, interacting with the visitors through a proximity sensor. Every kit contained a 24 frames animation powered by an Arduino board, which controlled a motor in charge of the cards’ movement. The animation was triggered by the proximity of a visitor. Korea won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale, a significant achievement for everyone involved including the Borrowed City project. The 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale "Fundamentals", ran from June 7 until 24 November 2014. Advanced discussions are underway to take the pavilion on a tour and re-install it in Seoul (National Museum of Contemporary Art), Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Kheit Student Fashion Competition Connects Qatar to Brazil In April 2014, the National Museum of Qatar opened an exhibition at VCUQatar that showcased ten garments designed by Qatari and Brazilian fashion students and celebrated two winners of the Kheit
As a legacy project, the Kheit Competition will continue to be held annually in collaboration with a country of choice as a way to share knowledge and foster exchange and dialogue between institutions and individuals involved in culture, heritage, art and design.
Competition—Kinda Morshed, fashion design junior at VCUQatar, and Carolina Tonnetti dos Santos of Brazil. Held during Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture, in partnership with VCUQatar, and the Centro Universitário Belas Artes de São Paulo, Qatar’s international student fashion competition—called ‘Kheit,’ the Arabic word for thread—offered students from selected universities in Qatar and Brazil an opportunity to research women’s and menswear from each country, then interpret cultural heritage through art and design. Participating students designed pieces that incorporated the traditional styles of both countries in a contemporary manner. The competition aimed to increase engagement between the people of Qatar and Brazil in the spirit of innovation, openness and learning in the field of fashion. The exhibition was on view at VCUQatar until July and then travelled to Museu Belas Artes de São Paulo (MUBA).
Kinda Morshed with Brazilian Ambassador to Qatar Hildebrando Tadeu Valadares
Issue 3 — 35
G LO B A L E X P E R I E N C E
Interdisciplinary Design in Action In May 2014, the MFA in Design program hosted a two-day symposium entitled ‘Exploring the Definition and Practice of Interdisciplinary Design.’ International artists and designers presented alongside VCUQatar faculty and students. Increasingly, the boundaries between design disciplines have become more fluid. What was once perceived as solid is quickly dissolving, forming a perpetual cycle of reinvention and revision of how we conceive, generate and realize a design. The establishment of interdisciplinary design programs within institutions of higher education is an acknowledgement and reflection of this development. What this actually entails, though—particularly in the context of design—remains open to rigorous debate. The symposium aimed, through a variety of means, to investigate and clarify the paradigms that shape the field of interdisciplinary design. Themes for the presentations and papers included definitions of design based interdisciplinarity; advantages / disadvantages of an interdisciplinary approach in design; interdisciplinarity within design- related academia—program and curriculum development; interdisciplinarity within design practice with examples of projects and methodologies; technology-driven interdisciplinarity; historical precedents for interdisciplinarity; interdisciplinary design theory and entrepreneurial interdisciplinarity among others.
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G LO B A L E X P E R I E N C E
Critic in Residence: SVA's Alice Twemlow Visits the MFA Department Alice Twemlow, chair and co-founder of the Design Criticism program
To operate effectively in a construction site, design has to be flexible,
at the School of Visual Arts in New York joined VCUQatar’s MFA pro-
adaptive, negotiatory, but also bold. Design needs to be at the fore-
gram in Design as a guest critic in November 2013.
front of decision-making in Doha. That's an exciting goal!”
Apart from her general role in the department as provocateur and
“The MFA comprises a very talented and thoughtful group of fac-
guest critic, Twemlow worked closely with the second-year students on
ulty and students, and I have learnt a lot from working with them,”
their thesis projects, focusing on their writing, critical thinking, meth-
Twemlow says. According to Acting Director of Graduate Studies P
ods, ideas and design experiments. “They each have rich and complex
Pornprapha Phatanateacha the MFA department thoroughly enjoyed
topics to contend with, and I've been impressed by the thoroughness
their work with Twemlow, who previously visited Qatar in 2011 during
of their research and the quality of their conceptual thinking,”
VCUQatar’s international biennial Tasmeen Doha Conference. “We
Twemlow says. As the only MFA program in design in the GCC, the program faces unique challenges. “The MFA certainly faces challenging conditions, some of which are not connected to geographical location, such
hope to continue this type of residency every semester, to create a tradition of bringing in international designers and educators to work with our students and faculty within the context of this region.” Twemlow is a contributor to Design Observer and writes about design
as how to teach design as a process of navigation and negotiation
for publications including Eye, Design & Culture, and The New York
between disciplines and constituents (there are few models and
Times Magazine. She is the author of What is Graphic Design For? (Ro-
precedents), and some of which are context specific, like how to teach
tovision) and of essays for books such as The Barnbrook Bible and 60
design in the absence of a supporting design culture? I think these
Innovators: Shaping Our Creative Futures (Thames and Hudson), and
challenges can also be seen as opportunities and I know VCUQatar
the catalogue for “Graphic Design Worlds” at La Triennale Design
sees them as such,” says Twemlow. According to Twemlow, VCUQatar’s MFA program can be at the forefront of evolving interdisciplinary design pedagogy. “I think it's very exciting for students to be involved in a process of redefining design. Also, Qatar presents such an open field for design intervention.
Museum. She has directed several national conferences for AIGA and moderated conferences such as the Tasmeem Doha Conference 2011 at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, the College Art Association Conference 2011 in New York, and “Abstract: The Future of Design in Media Conference” in Portland, Maine. Twemlow has recently given lectures at the ICOGRADA conference in Beijing, the QT series at MoMA, and at AIGA Chicago. Issue 3 — 37
VCUARTS Richmond
Light Work: VCUarts Student Designs Limited Edition Mini Cooper During her Art Foundation year, Alexandra Coyle – now a Photography and Film and creative advertising student – entered the MINI Final Test Test Drives competition and designed a custom MINI Hardtop 2 Door. Thanks to the support of online voters, she was named the winner! Now a limited run of her design is available for purchase at miniusa.com. Coyle says her MINI is “a futuristic embodiment of light. After I went through all the options I had available to customize the car, I went for the bells and whistles and created what I call a Delux model (‘lux’ means light). The most important thing I learned during this process was to always go for it. If you don’t make it, just try again with all of the new things you learned throughout the process.”
38 — Issue 3
The Depot Building: Home to Interdisciplinary Collaboration As part of Virginia Commonwealth University’s master plan to provide additional academic, research and amenity space for its community, The Depot is the new home to an innovative, multidisciplinary initiative that will be directed by VCUarts. Located in Richmond’s Arts and Culture District, The Depot, along with the future Institute for Contemporary Art, will aim to serve as a critical link between the university and the greater arts community. As the University expands into the often under-served surrounding communities, the University continues to follow its development model of being historic and community stewards, investing not only in the University, but also in the framework of the larger urban community.
A Grant for Growth: VCU Sculpture Professor Wins $25,000 Award Elizabeth King, professor in the Department of Sculpture + Extended Media at VCUarts, Virginia, is one of 10 recipients of this year’s Anonymous Was A Woman Award, a $25,000 grant for women artists over 40 who are at a critical moment in their lives or careers. Established in 1996, Anonymous Was A Woman annually provides anonymous grants that allow these artists to continue to grow and pursue their work. Over 190 women to date have received the award. King plans to put the grant towards two long-term projects: a solo show scheduled for 2015, and a book she’s co-authoring on 16th century automaton.
Issue 3 — 39
E XC H A N G E
VCUQatar Day & Qatar House Reception Ten students from VCUQatar were on the Richmond campus in Octo-
Later in afternoon, faculty, staff, students and alumni from the
ber 2013 as part of an ongoing student leadership exchange program.
Richmond and Doha campuses attended a reception at the VCUQatar
These students, alongside faculty and staff from both campuses
House. The event featured the opening of Revisions, a new exhibition
hosted the fourth annual VCUQatar Day. More than 2500 people
by Ben Jurgensen (MFA-Sculpture ’10 + VCUQatar faculty 2010-13).
attended the tented event at the VCU Student Commons in the
Revisions explores traditional object forms, craft, and aesthetics
center of campus. The day provided opportunities for cultural exchange between the two campuses and introduced the Qatari culture to the larger VCU com-
specific to Qatar and the Middle East as they relate to contemporary experience. Each object was produced through a deliberate blending of traditional craft processes and digital fabrication techniques.
munity. Attendees had the opportunity to receive henna tattoos, have
After viewing the exhibition and tasting traditional Qatari desserts,
their picture taken wearing traditional Qatari clothing or have their
guests were treated to a showing of fashion designs by Rabab Abdulla
names written in Arabic calligraphy. Throughout the day, students
(BFA-Interior Design & Fashion Design ’13). Abdulla enlisted VCU
from both campuses joined together in drum circles and chatted while
Richmond students to model her graduate collection, Timeless Blend,
sipping karak, a traditional Qatari tea.
using the VCUQatar House gallery as the runway setting.
VCUQatar received assistance from the VCU Division of Student
The VCUQatar House is a multi-purpose building on the VCU campus
Affairs, Activities Programing Board, Student Government Association,
and includes offices for the Richmond-based VCUQatar support staff,
VCU Globe and School of the Arts in planning and promoting
a street front gallery space and a meeting space for students. The
the VCUQatar Day.
Qatar House opened in 2012.
40 — Issue 3
E XC H A N G E
Capital Exchange: VCU Students Trade Campuses The VCUQatar/ VCU Richmond exchange program is an ongoing initiative that allows students from Doha and Richmond to swap campuses for a semester. In the fall, VCU Richmond sent two students from Art History, one from Painting and Printmaking and one from Fashion Merchandising to Qatar, while VCUQatar sent two Interior Design students to Richmond. In the spring, two Interior Design students from VCUQatar joined the Richmond program and one Graphic Design and one Painting and Printmaking student came to Doha. The Fashion Merchandising student who had been on exchange in the fall stayed an extra semester as part of the study abroad program.
Issue 3 — 41
THE YEAR In Numbers
2013–2014
16T H AC A D E M I C Y E A R 265 B FA + 13 M FA S T U D E N T S E N R O L L E D C ANADA
I N T H E I N C O M I N G FA L L C L A S S E S 13 T H G R A D UAT I N G C L A S S 37 B FA + 6 M FA S T U D E N T S G R A D UAT E D I N M AY 2 014
STUDENTS ENROLLED 278 S T U D E N T S
TRINDAD & TOBAGO
MEXICO
UNITED STATES
450 ALUMNI
BR A ZIL
BREAKDOWN BY MAJOR B FA A RT F O U N DAT I O N 7 2 (I N C L U D E S 12 F Y I) FA S H I O N 3 3 G R A P H I C 67 I N T E R I O R 57
S T U D E N T P O P U L AT I O N
PA I N T I N G & P R I N T M A K I N G 2 1
BA A RT H I S T O RY 1 5 Q ATA R I
N O N Q ATA R I
5 4%
4 6%
M FA 13 S T U D E N T S
C R O S S R E G I S T R AT I O N FA L L S E M E S T E R 2 0 1 3
A LU M N I 2002–2014
E D U C AT I O N C I T Y U N I V E R S I T I E S: 2 4
4 5 0 G R A D UAT E S
AC A D E M I C B R I D G E P R O G R A M: 8
2 8 6 Q ATA R I , 16 4 N O N - Q ATA R I
S P R I N G S E M E S T E R 2014
42 8 F E M A L E , 2 2 M A L E (S TA RT I N G 2 011)
E D U C AT I O N C I T Y U N I V E R S I T I E S: 31 AC A D E M I C B R I D G E P R O G R A M: 3
BY MAJOR FA S H I O N 4 5
RECRUITMENT
GR APHIC 209 I N T E R I O R 165 G R A P H I C / FA S H I O N 4
2 31 C O M P L E T E D A P P L I C AT I O N S 8 5 AC C E P T E D S T U D E N T S 72 ENROLLED STUDENTS
I N T E R I O R / FA S H I O N 11 PA I N T I N G & P R I N T M A K I N G 8 M FA 12
1 59
141
292
278
2 59
244
2 31
2 19
208
193
19 2
181
B FA
2 014
12 2
117
M FA
2 013
2 012
2 011
2 01 0
2009
2008
2 0 07
2006
2005
2004
2 0 03
2 0 02
2 0 01
SOUTH AFRIC A
FACULT Y / STAFF
T O TA L E N R O L L M E N T
F O U N DAT I O N
2 5.9 %
A RT H I S T O RY
11.9 % AUSTR ALIA
STUDENTS
E N R O L L M E N T B Y D E PA R T M E N T
M FA D E S I G N S T U D I E S
4.7 %
PA I N T I N G & P R I N T M A K I N G
7.6%
INTERIOR DESIGN
5.4%
2 0. 5%
FA S H I O N D E S I G N
GR APHIC DESIGN
2 4%
NEW ZE AL AND
IND ONESIA
INDIA
MAL AYSIA
THAIL AND
FR ANCE
NEPAL
IR AN
KUWAIT
SYRIA IR AQ
UNITED KINGD OM
RUSSIA
FINL AND
SWEDEN
DENMARK GERMANY
CROATIA
LEBANON
PALESTINE
ITALY
SWITZERL AND
KORE A
PAKISTAN
Q ATAR UAE OMAN
EGYP T
BAHR AIN
JORDAN
BANGL ADESH
YEMEN
PHILIPPINES
SINGAP ORE
SRI L ANK A
KENYA
SUDAN
TUNISIA
ALGERIA
IREL AND
A LU M N I P RO F I L E S
Lejla Niksic G R A P H I C D E S I G N ‘07
44 — Issue 3
A LU M N I P RO F I L E S
“What is special about AEB is that you are given positions of high responsibility early in your career and this widens one’s perspective ...”
ليلى نيكتشتش
– تصميم الغرافيك2007 دفعة
Business Development Executive Lejla Niksic, who graduated from VCUQatar in 2007, works on a wide range of projects at the Arab Engineering Bureau, an architectural and engineering design and consultancy firm in Doha. As part of her responsibilities in marketing and communication, Niksic works to develop partnerships with third parties and external organizations like the Skira publishing house (Italy); Rijksakademie (Holland); Kunstfort (Holland); de Atelier (Holland); Virginia Commonwealth University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Qatar Museums, and Georgetown University in Qatar, among others. She evaluates marketing campaigns and monitors market trends, identifying changes in the marketing environment and redrafting AEB’s marketing strategies accordingly. She also develops opportunities for the promotion of AEB and carries out market research and surveys to assess demand, brand positioning and awareness. “While in high school I always thought I would study something more related to the sciences as that is where my strengths were, but in my senior year I changed my mind and decided to go to VCUQatar and study design instead,” she says. “The design process and creative thinking skills that VCUQatar teaches its students perfectly complemented my technical knowledge, and seemed to be [a] perfect fit for personal development,” says the young Bosnian designer. It is very much in keeping with her ambition to further develop skills, especially those in general management, and to be able to creatively manage and solve large-scale problems. “What is special about AEB is that you are given positions of high responsibility early in your career and this widens one’s perspective, helps one understand various aspects of the business, and hence grooms the individual to be a better manager,” says Niksic who was also recently appointed as a project development manager. The opportunity to juggle a large-scale project along with her other commitments is clearly something she thrives on. She continues to work on communications projects like the annual issue of The Bureau, the AEB magazine she initiated in 2012, and the exhibition event, Cityscape Qatar 2014, for which she handles everything from event planning and coordination to procurement, design management, fabrication and installation of the AEB stand.
وتعمل كتنفيذي،2007 خترجت ليىل نيكتشتش من جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر عام لتطوير األعمال عىل جمموعة واسعة من الماشريع يف المكتب العريب للشؤون الهندسية . رشكة لالستاشرات والتصميم الهنديس والمعماري يف الدوحة،AEB تعمل ليىل عىل إقامة رشاكات مع،كجزء من مسؤولياهتا يف جمال التسويق واالتصاالت وكل من أكادميية، يف إيطاليا،Skira أطراف ثالثة ومع المنظمات اخلارجية مثل دار النرش وجامعة فرجينيا كومنولث ومتاحف قطر، وأتيلييه دو يف هولنداKunstfort وRijks .وجامعة جورجتاون يف قطر وغريهم لتحدد وفقا لذلك،تقوم ليىل بتقييم احلمالت التسويقية ومراقبة اجتاهات السوق التغريات التسويقية إلعادة صياغة اسرتاتيجيات المكتب العريب للشؤون الهندسية يف كما تعمل أيضا عىل تطوير الفرص الرتوجيية للمكتب وتنفيذ حبوث التسويق.التسويق . وحتديد الوعي ومواقع العالمات التجارية،واالستبيانات لتقييم الطلب " أثناء وجودي بالمدرسة كنت دامئا اعتقد بأنين: تقول المصممة البوسنية الاشبة ولكن ويف سنيت الهنائية غريت رأيي وقررت،أسدرس شيئا مرتبطا بالعلوم كوهنا نقاط قويت "إن عملية التصميم." االلتحاق جبامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر ودراسة التصميم ومهارات التفكري اإلبداعي اليت تدرهسا جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث تتمم معرفيت التقنية خاصة، هذا يتماىش كثريا مع طموحي يف تطوير مهارايت. وتبدو مثالية للتنمية الشخصية،متاما ." وبإبداع، وأن أصبح قادرة عىل إدارة وحل الماشكل واسعة النطاق،يف اإلدارة العامة "ما ميزي المكتب العريب للشؤون الهندسية أهنم يقدمون لك الفرصة يف وقت مبكر من مينحونك مناصب عالية المسؤولية تعمل عىل توسيع مداركك ووجهات،حياتك المهنية وبالتايل هتيأك لتصبح، وتاسعدك عىل فهم خمتلف جوانب األعمال التجارية،نظرك هذه الفرصة. " تقول ليىل اليت تشغل حاليا منصب مدير تطوير المرشوع.مديرا أفضل اليت جتمع ما بني ماشريع واسعة النطاق مع الزتامات أخرى تظهر مدى جناحها وازدهارها AEB وجملة،"2014 وتواصل ليىل العمل يف ماشريع االتصاالت مثل "المكتب.بوضوح حيث تقوم برعاية،2014 و معرض سييت سكيب قطر،2012 السنوية اليت أطلقهتا يف للرشاء والتوريد وإدارة التصميم، هذه الماشريع بالكامل من التخطيط والتنسيق .AEB والتصنيع والرتكيب جلناح المكتب العريب للشؤون الهندسية ومع هذا التاسرع يف النمو ال بد لنا من اثبات."يأيت التحدي يف مواكبة ارتفاع التوقعات ،AEB " التفاعالت اليومية مع الرئيس التنفيذي وكبري المهندسني يف.همتنا يف كل نقطة . ومنحىن التعلم احلاد يدعونا لمتابعة األسس والدرااست الذاتية،إبراهيم اجليدة وتقوم بإدارة عملية البحث وتطوير، تعمل ليىل عىل ثالثة كتب من تأليف اجليدة،وحاليا كما تعمل أيضا عىل التنسيق وإدارة المحتوى لمخطوطة الذكرى الستني.المواد للنرش يفSkira ودار نرشViapiranesi للمكتب العريب للشؤون الهندسية بالتعاون مع ومن المتوقع أن يتم، "جيري حاليا العمل عىل هذا الكتاب: تقول ليىل حبماس.إيطاليا ".2016 أو أوائل،2015 نرشه مع هناية عام "أعمل دامئا بكامل طاقيت وجهدي وأعرف بأن هذا سياسعدين:ختتتم ليىل حديهثا قائلة ."عىل حتقيق أهدايف
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“The challenge is keeping abreast of rising expectations. With an accelerated growth path, at every point you have to prove your mettle,” she says. A steep learning curve and regular interactions with Ibrahim Jaidah, CEO and chief architect at AEB, calls for sufficient self-study and groundwork. Niksic is presently at work on three books authored by Jaidah, managing the research process and development of materials for publishing. She is also busy with the coordination and content management for AEB’s 60th anniversary manuscript in association with Viapiranesi (Italy) and the publishing house, Skira (Italy). “Work on this book is currently underway and is to be published [by the] end of 2015, early 2016,” she says excitedly. “I always give my absolute best and know this will help me accomplish my goals,” she says.
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Chaiun Chung GR APHIC DESIGN ‘13
When large advertisements for Qatar’s international equestrian competition—CHI Al Shaqab 2014—went up on the streets of Doha, staff at VCUQatar felt the designs looked very familiar. They were not surprised to learn that Chaiun Chung, designer at the TBWA agency and VCUQatar alumnus, was part of the team tasked with the project. When asked about the campaign, Chung smiles and insists it was a team effort, like every project he has worked on over the last 15 months at TBWA. “I was very excited to start working just after graduation. I was scared of the environment change since it was going to be so different from VCUQatar, but the team at TBWA has been very helpful,” says the young South Korean. “It’s always good to have different feedback from different designers,” he says of this ongoing experience. “CHI, for instance, evolved a lot since the start of the project. We had tight deadlines, lots of pressure and work, but in the end, it was good project because of all these factors.” And while CHI Al Shaqab 2014 may be the most public campaign he has worked on since joining TBWA, Chung is proud of all his work. His portfolio includes projects for Qatar Foundation, such as brochures, booklets and digital banners; the sponsorship kit and branding for CHI 2014; the launch campaign for TFQ (Teach for Qatar); and the one closest to Chung’s heart—the reading program for the Supreme Education Council. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words,’ isn’t a hackneyed phrase for Chung, who grew up in several countries, thanks to his father’s position as an engineer with Samsung. “Everywhere I’ve lived, people have spoken different languages, so the language barrier has always been an issue,” he says. “I realized that visualization was the strongest mode of communication and graphic design was the lesson I needed to learn to visualize as efficiently as possible.” Chung has very clear goals in sight. His short-term plans include learning essential skills at the agency and working his way towards becoming a creative director. His long-term plan is to win a global communication and advertising award. “I am a strong believer in being prepared,” he concludes philosophically. With such a strong showing so early in his career, preparation seems to already be paying off for Chung.
تشيون تشونغ . – تصميم الغرافيك٢٠١٣ دفعة وحاليا مصمما في وكالة2013 دفعة، خريج جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث في قطر،تشيون تشونغ اإلعالنات، في شوارع الدوحة، عندما رأى موظفو جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث في قطر.TBWA شعروا بأن هذه،2014 الشقبCHI - الكبيرة والضخمة لمسابقة قطر الدولية للفروسية . ولم يستغربوا بأن يكون تشيون جزءا من الفريق المكلف بالمشروع.التصاميم مألوفة لديهم مثل كل المشاريع، ابتسم مصرا على انه مجهود جماعي،عند سؤال تشيون عن هذه الحملة وعلق الشاب القادم من.TBWA التي عمل عليها خالل الخمسة عشر شهرا التي قضاها في كنت متخوفا، في البداية."كنت متحمسا جدا للعمل مباشرة بعد التخرج: كوريا الجنوبية قائال ولكن في،من اختالف بيئة العمل عما تعودت عليه في جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث في قطر "من الجيد:" ويقول عن هذه التجربة المستمرة. كان فريق العمل مفيدا ومتعاونا للغايةTBWA ، منذ بداية المشروع:" "فعلى سبيل المثال.دائما أن تعرف ردود أفعال المصممين اآلخرين ، كثيراCHI تطورت، ولكن في النهاية، وكان هناك الكثير من العمل والضغوط،كان الوقت ضيقا ."وبسبب كل هذه العوامل كان مشروعا جيدا ،TBWA كانت أكبر حملة عمل عليها تشيون منذ انضمامه إلى2014 CHI وبالرغم من أن الشقب تصميم الكتيبات والنشرات والالفتات الرقمية: من هذه المشاريع.إال أنه يفخر بكل اعماله ؛ وإطالق حملة "التعليم2014 CHI تصميم العالمة التجارية وأطقم الرعاية ل،لمؤسسة قطر ."؛ أما أحبهم إلى قلبه فهو برنامج القراءة للمجلس األعلى للتعليمTFQ - من أجل قطر فبسبب وظيفة والده كمهندس في، عبارة تنطبق على تشيون،""صورة تساوي ألف كلمة كان الناس، يقول تشيون "عشت في كل مكان. نشأ تشيون في عدة بلدان،شركة سامسونج " "أدركت أن التصور أقوى طريقة. لذلك كان حاجز اللغة دائما قضية،يتحدثون لغات مختلفة لالتصال وكان تصميم الغرافيك هو ما احتاجه التعلم كيفية التعبير باستخدام الصور بأكبر قدر ."ممكن من الكفاءة ينوي تشيون تعلم المهارات األساسية، فعلى المدى القصير.لدى تشيون أهداف واضحة جدا اما خططه طويلة المدى.في الوكالة وأن يعمل بطريقته ليصل إلى منصب المدير اإلبداعي أما فلسفته في الحياة فيلخصها.فتتلخص في الفوز بجائزة االتصاالت واإلعالن العالمية ومع مثل هذا االداء القوي في وقت." "أؤمن وبشدة بضرورة التخطيط المسبق لألمور:قائال . نرى بأن تشيون بدأ بالفعل يجني الثمار،مبكر جدا في مسيرته
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Dawood Anwari G R A P H I C D E S I G N ‘ 14
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“I’ve achieved things in the project I did not think I’d be able to accomplish, especially when it came to developing a new brand from scratch, to making something that didn’t exist before...” Graphic design graduate Dawood Anwari works for the Qatar-based advertising agency, ADabisc. Currently holding a position as graphic & game designer for a forthcoming family entertainment center in the Mall of Qatar, Anwari has gained valuable firsthand experience with the evolution of a creative account. “I’ve achieved things in the project I did not think I’d be able to accomplish, especially when it came to developing a new brand from scratch, to making something that didn’t exist before,” he says. Anwari’s interests in design and art are far-reaching and lend to his involvement in a number of ongoing projects beyond his work at ADabisc. With fellow alumnus, Tariq Spence, he started an independent design studio called Pixel Glitch, which won a QR 10,000 award during Qatar’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. His entrepreneurial bent has led him to explore the domestic market for original T-shirt design as well. Anwari has also made appearances on various local television stations to discuss and debate technology, gaming and design. Rounding out his first year in the professional sphere, he has gained first-time teaching experience by leading an animation workshop at the Shafallah School in Doha. But Anwari is perhaps most excited about a recent foray into acting and his involvement in the growing film community in Doha. After participating in past DFI programming and acting in a short film by local director Hind Al-Ansari, called “Amreeka Laa ,” he has caught the performance bug. “I’m currently part of a large film project,” he offers mysteriously, withholding its title. “And hopefully, this will kickstart an acting career.”
داوود أنواري
– تصميم الغرافيك٢٠١٤ دفعة
ADabisc يعمل لدى وكالة إعالنات. تصميم الغرافيك،2014 داوود أنواري – دفعة . وهو حاليا مصمم غرافيك وألعاب لمركز الرتفيه العائيل المقبل يف مول قطر.يف قطر "حققت يف: وقال.اكتسب داوود خربة قيمة ومبارشة مع تقدم هذا المرشوع اإلبداعي خاصة فيما يتعلق بتطوير عالمة،هذا المرشوع أشياء لم أعتقد بأين قادر عىل حتقيقها ." أو صنع يشء لم يكن موجودا من قبل،جتارية جديدة من الصفر لدى داوود اهتمامات بعيدة المدى يف الفن و التصميم تقوده إىل الماشركة يف العديد طارق، بدأ هو وزميله اخلرجي.ADabisc من الماشريع اجلارية باإلضافة إىل عمله يف " والذي فاز جبائزة بقيمة عرشة آالفPixel Glitch" استوديو تصميم مستقل،سبنس قادته عزميته يف تصميم.ريال قطري خالل األسبوع العالمي لريادة األعمال يف قطر كما ظهر أيضا.الماشريع إىل استكاشف السوق المحيل وتقديم تصاميم مبدعه للقمصان .يف العديد من حمطات التلفاز المحلية لبحث ومناقشة التكنولوجيا وتصميم األلعاب اكتسب وألول مرة خربة يف التدريس،وفيما يقرتب داوود من إهناء سنته العملية األوىل .من خالل قيادة ورشة عمل للرسوم المتحركة يف مدرسة الشفلح يف الدوحة يشعر داوود بأنه أكرث إثارة وحتماس لمغامرته األخرية يف التمثيل وماشركته يف جمتمع األفالم المايض والعملDFI فقد متلكه حب التمثيل بعد ماشركته يف براجم.النامي يف الدوحة "أعمل حاليا عىل مرشوع فيلم.يف فيلم قصري "أمريكا ال" للمخرج المحيل هند األنصاري "كيل أمل بأن يكون بداية،" علق بغموض دون ذكر اسم الفيلم الذي يعمل عليه،كبري ."انطالقيت يف عالم التمثيل دامئا ما سيقوده. يصعب التنافس، المهنية أو الشخصية،يتحمس داوود ألعماله المبتكرة ولكن خلفيته يف الفن والتصميم ستوفر له أاساس متينا من العمل،محاسه وطموحه بعيدا .اإلبداعي واخليال لمدى احلياة يف أي جمال يضعه نصب عينيه
Anwari’s enthusiasm for his creative outlets, be they professional or personal, is hard to match. His energy is likely to take him far, while his background in art and design will provide a solid foundation for a lifetime of innovative and imaginative work in whatever field he sets his sights on.
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Mahmoud Abbas G R A P H I C D E S I G N ‘ 11
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“My best work isn’t necessarily a tangible project, but it is the experience that I help create for our students.”
محمود عباس
– تصميم الغرافيك٢٠١١دفعة
As the Teaching Assistant and Academic Coordinator in the Graphic Design Department at VCUQatar, 2011 alumnus Mahmoud Abbas has his hands full. It is not unusual for him to help teach class in the morning, assist faculty in the afternoon, and play with design and technology—“research,” as he calls it—at night. “Most of my projects revolve around students. For example, for the internship class with Assistant Professor Leland Hill, I assist students as they create portfolios, search and apply for internships and help them build an understanding of the professional design landscape in Qatar. This country is a constantly changing place with fluctuating opportunities. We have to be up-to-date. An internship that expands a student's horizon is critical to their undergraduate experience, it’s important for us to keep searching and building relationships with companies and institutions locally and globally,” he elucidates. To the question of why he himself studied design, he responds: “At the expense of sounding clichéd, I'm going to say it chose me. I've always loved finding how things work and solving problems. There are few fields where one can explore a huge spectrum of subjects and have real world impact.” Abbas’ ultimate goal is to teach; it’s what he loves to do. The next thing on his list is to go to graduate school and earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. “With it, I can teach generations of new culture creators how to positively affect the world.”
يف قسم تصميم الغرافيك، أستاذ ماسعد ومنسق أكادميي،2011 دفعة،حممود عباس ليس غريبا عىل حممود الماسعدة يف تدريس الطالب.يف جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر واللعب مع التصميم، وماسعدة أعضاء هيئة التدريس يف فرتة ما بعد الظهر،يف الصباح . يف الليل، أو "البحوث" كما يسمهيا،والتكنولوجيا عىل. "تدور معظم ماشريعي حول الطالب:يلقي حممود الضوء عىل طبيعة عمله قائال أنا أاسعد الطالب يف، يف فصل التدريب مع الربوفيسور ليالند هيل،سبيل المثال وأاسعدهم عىل البحث وإجياد منح تدريبية وبناء وفهم،إناشء ملفاهتم الفنية الشخصية وعلينا. فهذا المكان يتغري باستمرار مع فرص متقلبة.المهشد المهين للتصميم يف قطر من المهم جدا احلصول عىل فرص تدريبية توسع أفق.أن نبقى عىل تواصل واطالع ال بد لنا من متابعة البحث وبناء العالقات مع الرشكات،الطالب وهتيأه لتجربته اجلامعية ." والمؤساست المحلية والعالمية ميكننا، "يف حاسب السري النمطية: أجاب،أما عند سؤاله لماذا قام بدراسة التصميم كنت دامئا أحب تقيص كيفية عمل األشياء وحل. القول بان هذا التخصص اختارين هناك جماالت قليلة ميكن للمرء من خاللها استكاشف طائفة واسعة من.المشكالت ."المواضيع يكون لها تأثريعىل العالم احلقيقي يسعى حممودحاليا للحصول عىل.أما ما حيبه حممود وهدفه المستقبيل فهو التعليم "بذلك أستطيع تعليم أجيال جديدة من المبدعني.درجة الماجستري يف الفنون اجلميلة ."يستطيعون التأثري إجيابيا عىل العالم ويضيف حممود. يندجم حممود يف مهامه اليت تعده لتحقيق أهدافه،يف الوقت الراهن وإمنا قد، "ليس من الرضورة أن تكون أعمايل ماشريع ملموسة لتكون األفضل:حبماس حنن حنقق النجاح يف كل، يف رأيي المتواضع.تكون جتربة اسعدت يف ابتكارها لطالبنا طالب، يتخرجون أكرث قدرة وثقة يف أنفهسم،مرة يتخرج فهيا الطالب باعتبارهم األفضل ." وهذا ما نعيش له،يؤثرون يف المجتمع ويغريون العالم إىل األفضل
For now, he is very content in a role that is preparing him to achieve his goal. “My best work isn’t necessarily a tangible project, but it is the experience that I help create for our students. In my humble opinion we have succeeded every time a student graduates as a better, more capable version of themselves, students that impact society and change the world for the better, it’s what we live for,” he adds passionately.
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Hend Almoughni FA S H I O N D E S I G N ‘02
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“I’m trying to target research opportunities, to disseminate some of the knowledge I’ve accumulated in order to come up with relevant local solutions.” Hend Almoughni is a member of VCUQatar’s very first graduating class, completing her BA in Fashion Design in 2002. By seeking out challenging opportunities that could add both depth and worth to her abilities as a designer, Almoughni’s postgraduate path has been a well-traveled one—she has worked in garment manufacturing in Qatar; studied business in the U.S.; collaborated with VCUQatar’s own Center for Research, Design & Entrepreneurship; and earned both Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Textile Technology from the University of Manchester in England. While Almoughni’s education has endowed her with in-depth technical knowledge of textile functions and properties, she is quick to highlight the integral role design thinking has played in implementing her ideas and enabling her success. Almoughni spent her childhood immersed in art and in the year between her high school graduation and the opening of VCUQatar, she improved her sewing and patterning skills in community classes. She benefited from the support of her parents in her pursuit of a design education, though she admits that not everyone in her family was fully convinced of the worth of such a degree. “They wondered if it was sustainable as a career, and they worried I was training to be a tailor. But my parents were always telling me: you need to do what you like to do,” she says. Following her passion turned out to be a wise decision for Almoughni, and though her path to a doctorate has been a winding one, her experience in all aspects of textile production and design has made her a unique and pioneering scholar in the field, ready to put her talents to use in her home country of Qatar, having returned from abroad in 2013.
هند المغني
– تصميم األزياء٢٠٠٢ دفعة
حصلت عىل هشادة. من اوائل خرجيات جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر،هند المغين من خالل سعهيا إىل فرص وحتديات ميكهنا.2002 البكالوريوس يف تصميم األزياء عام انضمت هند إىل برناجم الدرااست العليا،أن تضيف العمق والقيمة إىل قدراهتا كمصمم كما قامت بدراسة األعمال يف الواليات.وعملت يف تصنيع المالبس اجلاهزة يف قطر المتحدة؛ وتعاونت مع مركز جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث للبحوث والتصميم وريادة وحصلت هند عىل كل من درجة الماجستري والدكتوراه يف تكنولوجيا الغزل.األعمال هذا التعليم منحها المعرفة التقنية والعميقة يف.والنسيج من جامعة مانشسرت يف انكلرتا ولكن هند تسلط الضوء ورسيعا عىل الدور الذي لعبه التفكري،وظائف النسيج وخصائصه .بالتصميم يف تنفيذ أفكارها وحتقيق النجاح وقد قامت بتحسني مهاراهتا يف اخلياطة والتطريز.عاشت هند طفولهتا مغمورة يف الفن من خالل دورات المجتمع خالل السنة بني خترجها من المدرسة الثانوية وافتتاح جامعة ، استفادت هند من دعم والدهيا يف السعي لدراسة التصميم.فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر وعن ذلك.عىل الرغم من عدم اقتناع بعض األشخاص يف عائلهتا بقيمة هذه الهشادة وكانوا، "كانوا يتاسءلون عن مدى استدامة هذه الدراسة عىل المستوى الوظيفي:تقول انت حباجة: ولكن والدي كانا دامئا ما يقوالن يل.قلقون من كوين اتعلم ألصبح خياطة ."لتقومي مبا حتيب أن تقومي به وعىل الرغم من أن طريقها لهشادة الدكتوراه،تبني بعدها أن شغف هند كان قرارا حكيما إال ان جتربهتا يف مجيع جوانب إنتاج وتصميم النسيج صنع لها عالما فريدا،كان اشقا بعد عودهتا من، لتصبح جاهزة الستخدام مواههبا يف وطهنا قطر،ورائدا يف هذا المجال .2013 اخلارج عام هذا اخلط من البحوث [تكنولوجيا الغزل والنسيج] هو جديد، "إقليميا:وأوضحت هند حنن يف بيئة حارة والمالبس تشكل عامال،] أرى رضورة هذا النوع من المعرفة...[ كليا لنرش، ولذلك فأنا أحاول اسهتداف الفرص البحثية.كبريا يف كيفية التفاعل مع البيئة ." بعض المعرفة من أجل التوصل إىل احللول المحلية المناسبة روح هند االستثنائية وعقلها وذكاهئا هي أصول يف سعي قطر لتحقيق اقتصاد قائم عىل . حمظوظة لتكون هند إحدى خرجياهتا، كانت جامعة فرجينيا كومنولث يف قطر.المعرفة
“Regionally, this line of research [textile technology] is new […] I see the need for this kind of knowledge—we are in a hot environment and clothing is a big factor in how we interact with the environment. I’m trying to target research opportunities, to disseminate some of the knowledge I’ve accumulated in order to come up with relevant local solutions,” she explains. Almoughni’s extraordinary spirit and intellect are true assets in Qatar’s quest for a knowledge-based economy; the country, like VCUQatar, is fortunate to call her its own.
Issue 3 — 53
A LU M N I AC H I E V E M E N T S
VCUQatar graduates are pursuing successful careers within the government, nonprofit and privte industries in Qatar and around the world. Many have gone on to establish their own businesses, thereby contributing to the development of the small and medium enterprise culture in Qatar. A few examples are listed below:
Jawaher Abdelrahman Al-Mahmoud INTERIOR DESIGN ‘07
Jawaher Abdelrahman Al-Mahmoud presently works as a senior interior designer for Barwa. She recently completed work on the Barwa Al Sadd Hotel and is currently working on projects including the Qatar Petroleum District, in addition to building her own company, called
Zaina Abudayeh
JEEM Design, for which she has begun accepting projects. Some of her
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘12
personal projects include exhibition and villa design, one of which was
Zaina Abudayeh has worked as a freelance graphic designer & photographer for the past two years with a portfolio of diverse and international clients. Locally, this includes her work with the creative
just completed. This past year, Al Mahmoud has also attended exhibitions and fairs related to her field including Future Interiors, INFDEX and the Milan Furniture Fair.
agency, Imagination, on a project for Qatar Shell, and with VCUQatar in collaboration with CORE Projects on the Migrant Worker Hous-
Manar Ahmad Al-Muftah
ing project, among others. During this past year, she attended body
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘07
language workshops at the Human Behavior Training and Consult-
Manar Ahmad Al-Muftah has been working as a corporate social in-
ing Center in order to enhance her communication skills with clients
vestment executive at Qatari Diar since February 2014. Besides her work
and help her develop a better understanding of their needs. She is
as a graphic designer, Al Muftah is an artist by practice and her work
currently a brown belt in karate on her way to getting a black belt.
was showcased last year at the VCUQatar House in Richmond, Virginia. She has been invited to participate in an art exhibition in Doha that will
Nour Abu Ghazaleh INTERIOR DESIGN ‘12
Nour Abu Ghazaleh has worked at Poltrona Frau Qatar for two years, in addition to collaborating on projects for Qatar National Library and designing furniture packaging for Cassina. She is now the proud
open in December 2014. Some of the design projects she has worked on this year are the complete visual identity development of both Tafawoq (corporate social & management investment project targeting the youth in Qatar) and Al Karaana (petrochemical project in collaboration with Qatar Shell and Qatar Petroleum).
mother of a six-month old baby, Zaha.
Noor Suleiman Al Oraidi Shorook Al Fara GRAPHIC DESIGN '07
In October 2013, through Qatar University, Shorook Al Fara won a bronze award in the Creative Awards category for Education at the 9th QS-Apple (Asia-Pacific Professional Leaders in Education) 2013 Best International Print Advertisements sponsored by Kyung Hee University.
INTERIOR DESIGN ‘13
Noor Suleiman Al Oraidi joined the staff at VCUQatar as a student activities officer upon graduation in line with her short-term career goals. Here she has had the opportunity to plan and co-lead VCUQatar Day in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to this, she designs the students’ extracurricular experience through art and culture. She is currently in the process of forming a student Tasmeem (VCUQatar’s international biennial design conference) committee that focuses on promoting VCU and Qatari culture. Throughout her time with VCUQatar, she has devel-
Fatima Al-Kharaz
oped and enhanced significant skills in event management, networking
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘13
and mentoring. Alongside her professional experience, she has reached
VCUQatar Student Recruitment and Admissions Counselor, Fatima
out to the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, Palestine to form a Doha-
Al-Kharaz founded the Shadda T-shirt line that aims to shed lights on
based community that works to create a dialogue of history, culture,
Qatari culture through innovative designs inspired by Qatari youth,
art and heritage between the two countries.
traditions and cultures. Al-Kharaz is also working on her degree in life coaching and aims to get her accreditation soon to start helping people in her community reach their goals and ambitions.
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A LU M N I AC H I E V E M E N T S
Fatma Al-Remaihi
Dawood Anwari
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘10
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘13
Fatma Al-Remaihi is a graphic designer at Reach Out To Asia and
Dawood Anwari has been working as a senior graphic/game designer
a low-residency MFA student at the School of the Art Institute of
at ADabisc, working on developing a family entertainment center that
Chicago (‘16). Over the last two years, she has been developing her
will open in the Mall of Qatar. In addition to work, Anwari has his own
teaching skills by assisting and co-teaching various community classes
independent studio. He has appeared on three different TV shows talk-
with Ben Barbour at VCUQatar. In 2013, she was selected by the
ing about technology, video games and their effect on society. He held
Qatar-UK committee for an art residency in Scotland.
a workshop for children at Al Shafallah Center in collaboration with Qatar Museums, and taught a class about graphic and game design in
Haneen Al Sharif GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘12
Haneen Al Sharif, a graphic designer at the Center for Research, Design and Entrepreneurship at VCUQatar, was part of the team that
the Ta2heel summer program. Anwari is an actor under Innovation films where he enrolled in workshops with Iskander Qobti. He is currently working on several personal projects that are related to design, acting and storytelling.
created Qatar’s national road safety campaign ‘One Second.’ Al Sharif’s work aims to serve the community, and as a result she
Haya Sayel Daher
initiated an exhibition titled ‘Trifold’ which showcased origami pieces
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘07
created by the security guards at VCUQatar. This past year she also
Haya Sayel Daher works as a graphic designer at VCUQatar’s Com-
facilitated two art workshops that engage students with special needs
munications Department. She works on print, digital and web collateral
at the Qatar Hearing Center and Best Buddies Qatar. She presented
for the university and has created design concepts for VCUQatar’s
at the Interdisciplinary Design Symposium, with her paper “From
2012, 2013 and 2014 commencement ceremonies, as well as the design
Commission to Social Movement: Research-led Design in Action” at
themes for VCUQatar’s 13th and 14th annual fashion shows. Besides her
VCUQatar, Doha in May 2014 and spoke at the Cumulus Conference in
full-time job, she has done some freelance work, creating the identity
South Africa in September 2014.
branding for the 2013 Qatari Student Career Fair in Washington, D.C..
Moza Khalifa Al-Sowaidi
Assil Diab
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘13
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘11
Moza Khalifa Al-Sowaidi presently works as a graphic designer at
After her internship with graffiti artist El Seed, Assil Diab started to
VCUQatar in the Communications Department. She entered and won
experiment with graffiti on canvas. She has even used recycled bottles
a competition to design the Doha Insurance Company logo during
and paper to make pop art canvases which are now exhibited at
the past year and has also worked as a freelance designer and
the VCUQatar Bookstore. Diab sold nine pieces out of 13 during the
developed identities for organizations such as Qatar Golf Ladies and
2013 Alumni Bazaar over just two days. This has encouraged her to
Katara Art Center.
have more exhibitions such as her pop art show, held during a local designer’s charity fashion show where together they raised funds for
Farah Altaweel GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘13
Farah Altaweel was offered a freelance project by Stars of Science win-
the Bangladesh Savar building collapse incident. Diab also entered the Damien Hirst Challenge with a painting made out of worms, which will be exhibited at the Anima Gallery in November 2014.
ner Khalid Aboujassoum shortly after graduating. The project involved developing an educational app that teaches children the pronuncia-
Dana El Ahdab
tion of different Arabic words. This experience helped her understand
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘04
the design industry as a fresh graduate; she was also exposed to the
Dana El Ahdab teaches various graphic design courses at VCUQatar
universe of interface and application design. She has gained aware-
and 2D animation at Northwestern University in Qatar. She is currently
ness of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Doha, as the app was being
co-developing content for a new design and environment course at
developed by Aboujassoum for his startup company ibTECHar.
VCUQatar that is funded by a faculty research grant. She continues to freelance on design projects that mostly revolve around education and environmental conservation as she herself is a scuba diving instructor and has developed a personal interest in marine environments.
Issue 3 — 55
A LU M N I AC H I E V E M E N T S
Sahwa El Nakhli
Dania Khaled
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘10
GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘07
After working as a graphic designer for almost three years, Sahwa
Dania Khaled designed the interface of the mobile application iTraffic.
El Nakhli recently joined Enterprise Qatar as senior market associ-
Masarak’s iTraffic App gives users an overview of the traffic condi-
ateto overlook the creative strategy development and establishing
tions in Qatar, in real-time, and helps them navigate using the fastest
their brand identity. She has launched three successful campaigns and
routes to their destinations. This app is available in both Arabic &
services that support entrepreneurs and SMEs. During the past year,
English and has over 63,000 downloads. Khaled works with the mobile
she has attended a number of conferences including the Seoul Design
development team, and as the key designer on this project, continu-
Festival (Designer's Lab) and a leather workshop that focused on
ously enhances the design with each new release.
bags, wallets & key chain-making in Seoul, Korea. She also participated in a project management workshop in Qatar. She plans to start working on a personal project, currently in the planning phase, in collaboration with a classmate from VCUQatar.
Hadeer Omar GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘10
Hadeer Omar worked on the art direction for the Hamad bin Khalifa University website in 2013. She was a speaker at Interdisciplinary De-
Farzana Hoque
sign Symposium at VCUQatar in 2014 where she also filmed a promo-
INTERIOR DESIGN ‘13
tional video for the MFA department at VCUQatar presenting a series
Upon graduation from VCUQatar, Farzana Hoque was offered a
of workshops with the MFA faculty for senior students and alumni from
position with Salam Enterprises as an interior designer. She has since
all Education City branch universities. She collaborated with alumnae
worked on several high-end corporate projects such as the RasGas
Haneen Al Sharif and Dana El Ahdab to organize the Trifold exhibition
Minimart, BeIN Sports office, Qatar Central Bank headquarters and for
in October 2013. Her promotional video, ‘America Expanding Horizons’
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also took the time to learn new
was shown at the United States’ National Day celebration.
interior design-related software such as 3D Studio Max. She is now entering her second year with Salam Enterprises, and hopes to expand her knowledge in general interior design computer graphics and also network within her field. She hopes to gain experience that will better prepare her for graduate school in architecture.
Rana Abou Selo GRAPHIC DESIGN ‘09
Rana Abou Selo has been exposed to various types of projects over the last two years that have widened her experience and creativity. She worked at Imperial-TC as a creative officer where she created
Alia Khairat
brand identities as well as print design. Around that time she won an
MFA IN DESIGN ‘13
online award for a chocolate packaging design out of amongst 50
Last year, Alia Khairat illustrated Sadu in Qatar: Artistic Qualities and
designers from around the world. She currently works at Gulf Star as a
Traditional Techniques for Qatar Museums, and College: An Atlas for
graphic designer designing the monthly Qatar and Beyond magazine.
Richard DeMillo. In May, Khairat participated in the Center of Design Innovation at Qatar Foundation’s Social Innovation Bootcamp 2. Qatar Foundation PSR (post-show report) plans to use the final proposal, Aragooz, to educate children about workers’ issues. Khairat submitted a paper and presented at the VCUQatar Interdisciplinary Symposium (in May 2014); she also submitted a paper to Cumulus Johannesburg for presentation in September 2014.
Erica Virvo INTERIOR DESIGN ‘09
Erica Virvo works for popular budget travel blog NomadicMatt.com which teaches people how to travel cheaper, longer and smarter. She is in charge of website content management, social media strategy, destination guide creation and day-to-day operations for the Nomadic Matt team. This year, she's attended the NY Travel Festival, Portland's World Domination Summit and the Travel Blog Exchange in Athens in October 2014.
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A LU M N I R E U N I O N
Alumni Reunion 2014 VCUQatar held its annual alumni reunion this past April—VCU’s official
Other guests included VCUQatar Joint Advisory Board member Dr. Jelena
alumni month—at the W Hotel Doha. VCU School of the Arts Dean
Trkulja, director of Education, Qatar Museums; Peter Chomowicz,
Joseph Seipel and VCUQatar Dean Allyson Vanstone addressed over 75
associate dean for Research and Development; Line Ulrika Christiansen,
alumni from the various majors in attendance.
associate dean for Academic Affairs; Meike Kaan, executive director
This was the first reunion hosted for the Class of 2013 and it coincided with a number of alumni events and activities taking place on the main campus. Guests enjoyed a video screening of the Class of 2013. Peter Martin, assistant professor of Graphic Design, led a 45-minute
of Communications and External Relations; Roger Griffiths, director of The Center for Research, Design and Entrepreneurship; Muneera Spence, chair of the Graphic Design department and other faculty from VCUQatar.
activity during the event that focused on career networking and alumni connections. This was followed by dinner, and a photo booth was provided for the evening’s entertainment.
Issue 3 — 57
FA C U LT Y & S TA F F Achievements
Throughout the year, faculty and staff publish in professional journals and public magazines and participate in conferences and exhibitions as guest speakers and artists /designers. A few examples of these endeavors are listed below. Position titles and achievements reflect the academic year 2013-14.
Director of Art History, Dr. Dina Bangdel,
ADA Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, and at
presented peer-reviewed papers on her
the Untitled Art Fair (with ADA Gallery) in
research on South Asian art: “Asian Artists
Miami, Florida. He has also exhibited locally in
in 1950s’ Paris: The Framing of Modernity in
VCUQatar’s juried faculty exhibition “Strange
a Transnational Context” for the Symposium
Wonders” at Msheireb Enrichment Center,
Passing through Paris: Foreign Artists in Paris,
and in Katara Art Center’s “Community Sup-
INHS Paris (Nov 2013); “Framing Modernity/
ported Art” exhibition.
Contemporaneity in Nepali Art History” for the 3rd Annual ANHA Himalayan Studies Dr. Mohamed Cherif Amor, chair of the
Conference at Yale University (March 2014).
Interior Design department at VCUQatar and
She was invited to give public lectures at the
his two collaborators Dr. Michael Oboyle and
Nanyang Technological University School of
Dr. Pati Debajyoti won the third place at the
Art, Design, and Media in Singapore titled
Qatar Foundation Annual Research Confer-
“Defining Contemporary Islamic Art in South
ence (ARC 13) 2013 for their project entitled,
Asia” (April 2014) and “Contested Spaces
‘Architecture, Interior Design and Neuro-imag-
of Local Consumption: When is Traditional
ing: An Evidence Based Approach.’ The confer-
Painting Too Modern” for the symposium
ence received over 1000 research applications
Collecting South Asia; Archiving South Asia
this year, of which 500 were short-listed for
at University of California Berkeley (Feb 2014)
presentation at the conference under the four
among others.
categories - Energy and Environment, IT and Computing, Health and Biomedical, and Arts and Humanities, with three winners in each category. Dr. Amor and co-investigators were the recipients of the third place in the Arts and Humanities category.
Assistant Professor of English, Robert Bianchi, had his thesis entitled “Arabic, English or 3arabizi?: Code and script Choice on a Jordanian Website” published in the Arab English World Journal. Bianchi also attended conferences in Korea, Japan, and
Assistant Professor of Painting and Printmak-
Hong Kong related to his work on 3arabizi
ing, George Awde, had a solo exhibition “His
and published two peer-reviewed articles on
Passing Cover” as part of the FotoFest 2014
this topic. Finally, Bianchi attended an 8-week
Biennial. He received two faculty research
intensive Arabic program at Middlebury Col-
grants from VCUQatar for his work in Cairo
lege from June-August 2014.
and Beirut and was nominated for the FOAM: Paul Huf Award. He was part of several group exhibitions: “Islam Contemporary” (Rosenthal Gallery & the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts), “New Africa” (Kulte), and “Community Supported Art” (Katara Art Center). He contributed to the 20th Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit (The Watermill Center) and the Beirut Art Center Benefit Auction (Beirut Art Center).
Assistant Professor of Art Foundation,
Marco Bruno, with partners Simone Carena and Minji Kim, and published by Damdi in Korea in July 2013, received the prestigious DAM Deutsches Architekturmuseum Award for the Best Architecture Book of 2013. The book was selected among more than 150 entries from all over the world and was presented the prize during a special at the Frankfurt Book Fair. MOTOElastico (Bruno and Carena) together with VCUQatar graphic design faculty Dana Ahdab designed “Hidden Match” an exhibition of Korean Craft which opened in Riyadh in November. The show, curated by Eun Byungsoo, was the first ever large design exhibition of an Asian Country in Saudi Arabia. Peter Chomowicz, associate dean for Research and Development, presented a lecture entitled “Power and Politics in the Middle East: A Designer's Perspective” in May 2014 at the Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge. The lecture described the breathtakingly vast and rapid urban transformation of Qatar and how a design-research center
Ryan Browning, exhibited artwork at several
is addressing some of nation's most pressing
venues throughout the fall of 2013 and spring
problems related to its lofty ambitions.
of 2014, including a solo exhibition at Mulherin + Pollard Gallery, NYC, and a solo exhibition representing ADA Gallery at VOLTA NY, a curated international art fair in NYC. He also exhibited work in a two-person exhibit with Casey Jex Smith at Protocol Gallery, Gainesville, Florida. He exhibited in curated group exhibits at Loft 594 in Brooklyn, New York, at
58 — Issue 3
Borrowed City, the book written by VCUQatar Assistant Professor of Art Foundation
Assistant Professor of History, Jörg Matthias Determann, published a book entitled Historiography in Saudi Arabia: Globalization and the State in the Middle East (London: I.B.Tauris, 2014). This book is based on a dissertation that won the 2013 BRISMES Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize for the best PhD dis-
FACU LT Y & STA F F AC H I E V E M E N T S
Director of Student Leadership, Hissa Al
sertation on a Middle Eastern topic. He also
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design,
presented a poster at the Qatar Foundation
Denielle Emans, presented a workshop titled
Garni presented a session on Intercultural
“Participatory Impact Assessment for Social De-
Communication titled ‘Working Together
Annual Research Conference in 2013. The poster is entitled “Researching Biology and
sign” with Professor Adina Hempel and Senior
Evolution in the Gulf States: Networks of Sci-
Research Associate, Kate Lyon at the 2014 DRS
Conference in Qatar in early March 2014. She
ence in the Middle East.”
Conference held in Umea, Sweden. Later in
presented the session with Assistant Dean of
Exhibitions and Speaker Curator, Caitlín Doherty, presented a seminar entitled ‘Gallery Architecture: Contemporary Art and the Power of Display’ at UCLQatar as part of their Museum and Gallery Practice MA in September 2013. She also presented ‘The Importance of Museums and Galleries in Shaping Qatar's National Identity’ at the Irish Museums Association Annual Conference in February 2014, and completed the Association of Academic Museum and Galleries Leadership Seminar in association with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Illinois in June 2014. Project Design Manager, Patricia Duignan, was invited to present ‘One Second,’ the national road safety campaign of Qatar at the ITS Conference & Road Safety Forum in September 2013. Duignan jointly carried out a day of road safety activities with 800 students at DESS School in November 2013 and is currently collaborating with the M.O.I and NTSC to design an extra-curricular road safety program to be implemented in Qatar’s schools. Invited speaker at Pecha Kucha Doha 2014 where she presented the “Role of Design in Road Safety.” In February 2014, she facilitated a workshop at VCUQatar examining migrant worker welfare, identifying possibilities for a research project utilizing social innovation. In May 2014 she participated in a social innovation boot camp facilitated by Helen Hamlyn Center for Design and QF addressing issues related to the recruitment of the migrant workforce.
Across Cultures’ at How Women Work
June, Emans presented a lecture “Anything but
Student Affairs Valerie Jeremijenko where they
the Color Green: Introducing Sustainability into
shared their experience of their intercultural
Project–based Visual Communication Courses”
partnership and took a closer look at the
with Professor Kelly Murdoch–Kitt at the 9th
tools and strategies they developed over the
International Conference on the Arts in Society
years to support their work together. Al Garni
held in Rome, Italy. In August, she presented
presented another session with the same title
two papers entitled “Sustainability at the Fore-
at the regional NASPA conference in UAE in
front: Educating Students through Complex
April 2014. She attended the Summer Institute
Challenges in Design & Communication” with
of Intercultural Communication in Portland,
Professor Murdoch–Kitt and Dr. Kelly Norris
Oregon in July 2014 for the second time.
Martin; and “Cross-Cultural Design Collaborations in Water Sustainability” with Professor Murdoch–Kitt at the Just Sustainability: Hope for the Commons Conference held in Seattle, Washington.
Director of Entrepreneurship & Industry Affiliations, Roger Griffiths, delivered instructional classes on Business Fundamentals and Business Finances for Qatar's Al Fikra National Business Plan Competition organized by
Assistant Professor of English,
Enterprise Qatar. He presented at the Qatar
Robin Fetherston, presented her paper
Foundations Health, Safety and Security
“Tailing Inspector Bucket: Dickens’s Progeny in
Conference, Doha and was a panelist at
American Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction” and
the International Conference on “Transition to
served as a session chair at the American
a Knowledge-Based Economy: Multi-Disciplin-
University of Rome in October 2013. Her essay
ary Thinking and Best Practices,” hosted by
appeared in June 2014 in the International Jour-
the College of Business and Economics, Qatar
nal of Arts & Sciences, concluding a four-year
University. He also ran an innovation work-
project on Dickens. She presented a creative
shop at the How Women Work conference,
non-fiction essay entitled “The Night the Dunes
Doha and successfully completed the first
Fell Silent” at the Perspectives on Evil Confer-
year of Doctorate in Business Administration
ence in Prague in March 2014. That same work
(DBA), Cardiff. He continues to collaborate
was published in April 2014 on inter-disciplinary.
with government agencies, banks and partner
net and is scheduled for an e-book publication
universities to develop a free-zone for stu-
in fall 2014. In June, she presented two fiction
dent and graduate entrepreneurship in Qatar.
stories: “Rough Growing” at a workshop at the renowned Iowa Summer Festival and “Looking for Linen” at the Great Writing International Creative Writing Conference in London.
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Basma Hamdy, was invited to present an essay from her book “Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution” at the “Arts of Revolution Conference” organized by the
Issue 3 — 59
FACU LT Y & STA F F AC H I E V E M E N T S
Middle East Studies Center at Duke University
some of the tutorials through YouTube. Her
art and design.” She proposes that the levels
in March 2014. “Walls of Freedom” was recently
advanced visualization class collaborated with
of, and strategies for, design thinking apply to
published in Berlin in March 2014 after three
Qatar Museums on the Doha Fire Station.
writing as well and may suggest new ways of
years of intensive research about Street Art in Egypt following the revolution of 2011.
Assistant Professor of Art History, Debra Hanson, presented a public lecture
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design,
on “Daniel Boone at the Capitol: Representa-
Levi Hammett in collaboration with Acting
tion, Politics and Identity” at the US Capitol
Director of Graduate Studies, Pornprapha
in Washington DC in August 2013; the lecture
invention in writing. In addition, new studies in cognition may have implications for creativity in both design and writing. This program remains in the early research phase of collecting and reading books and journal articles.
Phatanateacha, and MFA Design student
was also broadcast on C-span and posted
Maryam Al Homaid, presented work from their
to their website. Her article on “Orientalism
Gary Huff, co-presented at the 2014 NACUBO
Today: Re-visions and Re-makings” was pub-
Annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, along-
and Flows Conference” at the Centre for Urban
lished by Qatar Bloomsbury Press in early 2014,
side peers from Georgetown School of Foreign
Studies in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in No-
and in May she presented a paper on “Thomas
Service Qatar, Northwestern University in
vember 2013, and at the “Tenth International
Eakins: Constructing the Melancholic Body”
Qatar, and Weill Cornell Medical College Qatar.
Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Eco-
at “The Turbulent Mind” conference held at
The session was titled "Fostering Organiza-
nomic, and Social Sustainability” in Split, Croa-
the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium. In
tional Effectiveness in a Global Educational
tia in January 2014. Work from the project was
July 2014, Hanson was selected to participate
Environment."
also exhibited in 2013 at the Katara Art Center
in a two-week National Endowment for the
in the group show “Otaku” in Doha, Qatar, in
Humanities Summer Institute on “The Visual
2014 at the “Strange Wonders” exhibition at
Culture of the American Civil War” held at the
Msheireb Enrichment Center, Doha, Qatar, and
CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.
“Cultural Camouflage” project at the “Spaces
as part of a group display titled “QPop”, at Design Days Dubai, UAE, 2014.
March, 2014.
momgo Project’ at the Architecture & Design Film Festival in Winnipeg, Manitoba in April
13 in Istanbul and the 12th International Con-
2014. In November 2013, Hersrud, along with
ference on New Directions in the Humanities in
VCUQatar faculty members Simone Muscolino,
Spain. Her research paper, “Hybridization and
Richard Lombard, and Levi Hammett, were
Creativity: Traditional Chinese Courtyard Hous-
selected to co-chair the 2015 international
es and Contemporary Design,” was published
biennial design conference Tasmeem Doha:
by The International Journal of Critical Cultural
3ajeeb!.
as associate editor for the current volume of The Design Collection and The International Journal of the Constructed Environment. She developed tutorials for Rhino modeling and advanced manual rendering and published
Assistant Professor of Writing, Dr. Molly McHarg, visited King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in March 2014. Dr. McHarg is the president of the Middle East-North Africa Writing Center Alliance (MENAWCA), and in this role she went to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between KAU and MENAWCA. She also presented her findings of a VCUQatar funded
Assistant Professor in the Liberal Arts and Sci-
faculty research grant entitled, “Writing Center
ences department, N. Jean Hodges’ current
Peer Tutoring in Qatar,” at the National Tutor-
research program investigates the relation-
ing Association conference in the United States
ship between design thinking and invention
in April 2014.
in writing. It is an interdisciplinary study that seeks to associate writing with recent findings in cognitive science and the VCUQatar vision of “a Qatari society that innovates through
60 — Issue 3
Research in the Archaeological Interpretation of LIDAR Satellite Imagery’ at University of Franche Compté held in Frasne, France in
presented her ongoing research project,
Studies. She is actively involved with Com-
participated in the workshop, ‘Training and
Michael Hersrud, screened his documentary film ‘More Than Bricks and Mortar: The Da-
monGround research community and serves
Assistant Professor of Art History, Leah Long,
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design,
Assistant Professor of Interior Design, Li Han, “Hybridization and Creativity,” at ARCHTHEO
VCUQatar Associate Dean for Administration,
FACU LT Y & STA F F AC H I E V E M E N T S
Diane Mikhael, assistant professor of Graphic
Assistant Professor in the Liberal Arts and
Design, is currently writing and publishing
Sciences department, Patty Paine’s fourth
Festival in Germany in 2013 to conduct
via Akkadia press, UK a book titled “Bilingual-
collection of poems, Grief & Other Animals, is
research into contemporary design practice. Her student work was published in the WAY
attended the DMY Berlin International Design
ism in Visual Communication: Visible forms
forthcoming from Accents Publishing. Poems
and meanings in Arabic and Latin scripts.” The
from that collection have recently appeared,
OF THE SIGN III by the ArtPower Interna-
project started in October 2013 and book will
or are forthcoming, in The Georgetown
tional. Her collaborative research “Cultural
be published by summer 2015.
Review, Revolution House and Blackbird.
Camouflage” with Levi Hammett; Assistant
Pain presented on The Donkey Lady and Other
Professor of Graphic Design and Mariam Al
Assistant Professor of Design, Dr. Thomas Modeen, presented at the Pecha Kucha Night in Doha in November 2013. He was also invited to sit on the Board of Advisors of the Katara Art Center (KAC) that same year. He also visited the Tokyo Design Week in October 2013 and had an opportunity to visit and meet representatives from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tama Art University. He exhibited work at the Design Days Dubai in March, and presented a paper titled ‘Digital Wabi-Sabi - Exploring the Values of ‘Imperfection’ in CAD/CAM Based Making of Artifacts’ at the Contemp Art ‘14 Conference in Istanbul
Tales from the Arabian Gulf, an anthology
Homaid; MFA Design student, was presented
of illustrated folk tales she co-edited, at The
at the Spaces and Flows Conference, Centre
Emirates Airlines International Literary Festival
for Urban Studies, University of Amsterdam,
in Dubai, and at Khalifa University in Sharjah.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands and the Tenth
Paine is also editor of Diode Editions, and has
International Conference on Environmental,
published four books of poetry, including A
Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability,
Concordance of Leaves by Philip Metres which
in Split, Croatia, 2014.
recently won the The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award from the Arab American National Museum. The cover of A Concordance of Leaves was designed by four VCUQatar students. Assistant Professor of Painting and Printmak-
Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, assistant professor of English, presented her paper, “We Have to Take Writing Classes?” as part of the panel on “Students, Faculty, and Home Culture” at the (Re)thinking Global Connectedness: Critical Perspectives on Globalization,
in April 2014. He also co-chaired and helped
ing, Michael Perrone, participated in the
Liberal Arts International Conference in Janu-
organize (in collaboration with Acting Director
T.A.K.T. artist residency this summer in Berlin,
ary 2014. A chapter by Rajakumar, “The Taboo
of Graduate Studies Pornprapha Phatateacha)
Germany. As part of the residency, he partici-
in Indian Literature in English: Expanded Ways
the ‘Interdisciplinary Design’ Symposium, at-
pated in the group exhibition ‘Total View,’ at
of Writing and Reading Indianness,” was
tended by an international set of participants,
the Tapir Gallery located in the Friedrichshain
published in the book Muses India: Essays on
in Doha, May 2014.
(in former East Berlin). While participating in
English Language Writers from Mahmoet to
Assistant Professor of Art Foundation Simone Muscolino’s Moving Postcards Project was exhibited again at Katara in December and January. The Moving Postcards Project and Wish, a new project, have been selected
the residency, Perrone created works for his
Rushdie (McFarland, 2013). She presented, as
Faculty Research Grant ‘Qatari Mirror,’ as well
part of a roundtable, on “The Relationship
as for two group shows this Fall; at Muhlen-
Between Self-Sponsored and Academic Lit-
berg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and
eracies Across Languages and Cultures: Pos-
at The Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia.
to be exhibited at the 20th International Sym-
Acting Director of Graduate Studies,
posium on Electronic Art in Dubai in fall 2014.
Pornprapha Phatanateacha along with
In October 2013, Muscolino was invited with
Assistant Professor of MFA Design Thomas
Assistant Professor of Design, Paolo Cardini,
Modeen co-chaired an international sympo-
to give a talk at the Istituto Europeo di Design
sium “Interdisciplinary Design Symposium”.
in Rome on the interaction between design,
This event drew a set of international design
socio-cultural context and self-representation
educators and from Canada, China, India,
strategies in Qatar.
Korea, Qatar, Singapore and Thailand. She
sibilities and Paradoxes” at the 7th European Association of Teachers of Academic Writing, in Budapest, Hungary, with Chris Anson (NCSU) and Paul Kei Matsuda (ASU).
Issue 3 — 61
FACU LT Y & STA F F AC H I E V E M E N T S
Assistant Professor of Fashion Design,
infection using Ag/ZnO visible light photocat-
MO, February 2014), and the artist book
Della Reams, created a knitted wall piece
alyst.” In June 2014, Dr. Saoud was awarded
exhibition Reading Room (New Delhi, April
called “Parasailing Pink Elephants” for the
two NPRP grants as co-lead for a project with
2014). During summer 2014 he was accepted
year-long invitational exhibition “Flight
Qatar University on lithium ion batteries; and
into artist residencies at Lukkeskåra/Rådlaus-
Patterns” currently showing in the Atlanta
another one with Texas A&M on gas-to-liquid
juvet (Suldal, Norway), Lalandhuset (Roga-
International Airport. Three of Reams’ Arabic
catalysts.
calligraphy dresses were shown in the juried exhibition, “Bestrickened (Enmeshed) Art of Knitting”, in Hannover Germany in JanuaryFebruary 2014. Reams also participated in a research cluster that resulted in a four-person collaborative scenographic exhibition at Katara Art Center in February-March 2014, called “Dressing Up, Going Out, Eating In.” The exhibition featured fashion and furniture, textiles and tableware, lighting and accessories, by Reams, Assistant Professor of Interior Design Johan Granberg, VCUQatar Community Class Ceramics Instructor Jeanine Hill Rasmussen, and VCUQatar alumna Rana Rwaished.
Muneera Spence, associate professor and chair of the Graphic Design Department, pre-
Assistant Professor of English Jesse Ulmer
sented two lecture/workshops to the Stars of
presented a paper titled “Shane and the
Science candidates for the Television program
Language of Men” as part of a panel on the
of the same name, “Color: Creating the Story”
American West in Film and Literature at the
and “The Powerful Brand: Creating a Lasting
Southwest Popular and American Culture
Bond”. The intent of the presentations was to
Association’s conference in Albuquerque, New
bring design into the conceptual experience of
Mexico, U.S.A., February 2014. In April, Profes-
scientific product development. Spence and
sor Ulmer presented another academic paper
Diane Mikhael, assistant professor of Graphic
titled “No Country for Some Men” as part of a
Design, co-presented a paper focusing on
panel called “Masculinity Goes to the Movies”
the Middle East Design Educators Association
that formed a part of the Popular and Ameri-
to the American Institute of Graphic Artists
can Culture Association’s National Conference
(AIGA) National Conference, Head, Heart,
in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Assistant Professor in the Liberal Arts and
Hand in Minneapolis, Minnesota in October,
Sciences department, Dr. Khaled Saoud
2013. The presentation focused on the “Design
was awarded a National Priorities Research
Educators Terrain in the MENA Region” as
Program (NPRP) grant in June 2013 for USD
part of a panel on “Design Education: Global
881,000 by the Qatar National Research
Context and Conversations.”
Fund (QNRF) with Dr. Massimo Brenteno, from VCU Richmond for the project titled “Development of mechanically stable aerogel for thermal insulation.” Dr. Saoud was awarded an Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) grant for US $29,500 in June 2013 by QNRF for the project “Preservation of cultural heritage using nanotechnology.” Dr. Saoud also received a research award at the Qatar Annual Research conference ARC13 for the project titled “Prevention of hospital
62 — Issue 3
land County, Norway), and the Frans Masereel Centrum (Kasterlee, Belgium).
Dean Allyson Vanstone was invited to speak at the 6th Annual European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA) Leadership Symposium, “E/MERGE”, in Helsinki, Finland, November 2013. Joining seven speakers from across the globe,
Assistant Professor of Painting and Printmak-
the symposium brought together 76 senior
ing, Zach Stensen, exhibited at the Dun-
decision makers from educational institutions
can Jordanstone College of Art during the
representing 28 countries to address how
international printmaking conference, Impact
higher arts education institutions prepare for
8, as part of the Crossing State Lines: A Survey
new and global challenges. Dean Vanstone
of American Printmakers exhibition (Dundee, Scotland, August 2013). Zach also exhibited
was invited to lead a proposed roundtable, “Interdisciplinary, Interuniversity, International”,
his work in the Paper in Particular juried
at the International Council of Fine Art Deans
exhibition at Columbia College (Columbia,
(ICFAD) annual conference, New Orleans, LA in October 2013. This roundtable shared the current developments at Qatar Foundation’s
FACU LT Y & STA F F AC H I E V E M E N T S
Education City with Fine Art Deans from
Ecology, was published in October 2013 in
at Home. This summer she developed and
across North America. Dean Vanstone was
Gardens in Our Hearts, Publishing House,
conducted two motivational youth workshops
also invited to moderate the panel “Art Educa-
Polypress, Russia. She spent June 2014 as a
at IAID Performing Art Academy ‘Here I am,’
tion – To Which Ends?” at the Qatar Museums,
writer-in-residence at Hawthornden Castle
about the benefits of social media; and ‘Ex-
“Education for the Future; A Conference on
International Retreat for Writers in Scotland,
panding Your Mind and Changing Your World,’
Informal Learning in Museums and Cultural
where she worked on her project, for which
about excelling in school. She was recently
Institutions”, Qatar in December 2013.
she received a 2013 Presidential Research
honored with the World Humanitarian Day
Quest Fund Award from Virginia Common-
Qatar Award 2014 for her commitment to
wealth University.
community outreach, making a difference
Annette Wendling-Willeke, VCUQatar outreach and community class manager, attended the “Education for the Future” conference
Director of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
at MIA in December 2013. Since January 2014,
Dr. Byrad Yyelland travelled extensively
she has been serving as the current Chair of
conducting ethnographic research on artist
International Artists Doha. She showed new
communities around the world for a NPRP
art work in four group shows: “Mini Art” at
funded project. He co-presented three
Katara Visual Art Center, December 2013;
portions of this research: (1) “Designing an
“Strange Wonders” VCUQatar Faculty and Staff
Artist Studio Complex in Qatar” at the 8th
Exhibition at Msheireb Enrichment Center,
International Conference on Design Prin-
April 2014; “Rooh Al Hayat – Essence of Life”,
ciples on Design Principles and Practices in
4th annual art exhibition of IAD at AaQool
Vancouver (January 2014); (2) “The Art Souq”
Atrium, May 2014 (which she was co- curat-
at Spectres of Evaluation: Rethinking Art /
ing), and “From Qatar”, General Exhibition
Community/ Value in Melbourne (February
2014 Qatar Fine Arts Association, at QFAA,
2014); and (3) “A Comparative Look at Artist
Katara in May 2014. She published an article
Studio Communities Around the World” at
and a selection of her paintings in the April-
the 9th International Conference on The Arts
June Edition of “The Architect, the Journal of
in Society in Rome (June 2014). Dr. Yyelland
the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects.”
presented “Combining Social Sciences with
Diana Woodcock’s second full-length poetry collection, Under the Spell of a Persian Nightingale, is forthcoming (2015). In November
and helping save lives.
Design for Powerful Interdisciplinarity” at the 2014 Interdisciplinary Design Symposium in Doha (May 2014).
2013, her fourth chapbook, Tamed By the
Assistant to the Dean of Research & Develop-
Desert, was published. Since last year, she
ment, Margarita Zuniga, participated as a
has presented papers and poetry readings at
panelist for How Women Work – CSR Starts
conferences in Russia, Madagascar, Canada, Florida and Qatar. In January 2014, she conducted research in the Everglades. Her article, Qatar’s Quranic Botanic Garden and Desert
Issue 3 — 63
A D E S T I N AT I O N Fo r D i a l o g u e
2013–2014 Exhibitions & Lecture Series Throughout the year, under the curatorship of Caitlín Doherty, VCUQatar offers a diverse program of public exhibitions and lectures, including solo and group exhibitions hosted by the Gallery at VCUQatar. Through local and global collaborations, the Gallery encourages the appreciation and understanding of art and design and their roles in society. The Gallery stimulates active learning about the creative process through dialogue among communities of students, faculty, artists, scholars and the wider public. The Gallery opened the year with My Rock Stars: Volume 1 featuring works by London-based Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj. Next came Open Forms, a site-specific installation in which British artist Kate Terry used thread and pins to transform and delineate gallery space. In The Depth of Hope, Egyptian-Sudanese artist Fathi Hassan experimented with written and spoken word through drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations, exploring the erasure of ancient languages through colonial domination. Lines in the Sand, an exhibition showcasing the findings of a collaborative research project involving VCUQatar, the University of Wales and Qatar Museums, unearthed Qatar’s rich and complex history through interactive media designed to create new and alternate frameworks through which we may view, use and engage with the past. The Faculty Exhibition 2014—Strange Wonders—presented in collaboration with Msheireb Properties, looked to Qatar’s past to stimulate innovative new works in art and design. The academic year concluded with the BFA and MFA 2014 Exhibition celebrating the creative achievements of the university’s graduating students.
01 02 03 04 05 06
01
Artist Fathi Hassan Hassan Hajjaj Exhibition ‘My Rock Stars’ Fathi Hassan Painting ‘The Voice of our Generation’ Byung–Soo Eun Giorgio Olivero Kate Terry Exhibition ‘Open Forms’ 02
64 — Issue 3
03
04
05
VCUQatar’s Crossing Boundaries Lecture Series reflects the cross-disciplinary nature of the featured speakers who are representatives of excellence in creative and innovative thinking. The 2013-2014 speakers included Myles Pepper, arts manager and consultant; Rose Issa, curator, writer and producer specializing in visual art and film from the Middle East; renowned writer, critic and curator Francesco Bonami in conversation with cultural entrepreneur and art collector Tariq Al Jaidah; Korean design consultant and curator Byung-Soo Eun; and Italian interaction designer Giorgio Olivero. VCUQatar also hosted renowned New York-based performance artist Marina Abramovic and American sculptor Richard Serra, in collaboration with Qatar Museums. Additionally, the academic departments at VCUQatar invited a number of artists and designers for lectures and workshops, including Stephen Jones and L’Wren Scott, Dr. Wendy Pullan, Alice Twemlow, Jenny Schmid, Shahzia Sikander, Mehdi Saeedi and Matt King. 06
Issue 3 — 65
A D E ST I N AT I O N F O R D I A LO G U E
Icons of Contemporary Art Visit VCUQatar As part of an ongoing collaboration between VCUQatar and Qatar Museums, two internationally renowned artists gave lunchtime lectures at the University for students, faculty and the wider community. Acclaimed New York-based performance artist Marina Abramovic visited the campus for a lecture November 2013. Abramovic spoke to a full house about her career and artistic work and introduced the Marina Abramovic Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art, which is scheduled to open in Hudson, New York in 2014. Since the outset of her career in Belgrade during the early 1970s, Abramovic has pioneered performance as a visual art form. The body has always been both her subject and medium. Exploring physical and mental limitations in works that ritualize the simple actions of everyday life, she has withstood pain, exhaustion and danger in her quest for emotional and spiritual transformation. Abramovic had her first major U.S. retrospective in 2010 during which she performed for over 700 hours in The Artist is Present at Museum of Modern Art in New York. The following semester, VCUQatar welcomed American sculptor Richard Serra to discuss his bodies of work, including his celebrated large-scale, site-specific sculptures for architectural, urban and landscape settings. The lecture coincided with the presentation of two major exhibitions of Serra’s work in Doha by the QMA. The first, Passage of Time, at the ALRIWAQ exhibition space, enabled visitors to experience an exhibition conceived specifically for the space, and the second, at the QM Gallery in Katara Cultural Village featured a selection of seven sculptures and four large drawings that reflected significant stages of development in Serra’s career. The exhibitions were curated by Alfred Pacquement, Honorary Director of the National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou in Paris, who also participated in the conversation with Serra at VCUQatar.
66 — Issue 3
A D E ST I N AT I O N F O R D I A LO G U E
The Fifth Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art Examines the Role of Light in Islamic Art and Culture Scholars from around the world explored the role of light in Islamic art and culture during the Fifth Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art held November 9-11, 2013 in Palermo, Italy. Widely considered the preeminent conference on Islamic art and culture, the three-day Symposium, God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth, featured 13 speakers, all internationally recognized scholars in Islamic art and architecture, whose papers explored the role of light in the field from a range of perspectives, from metaphoric imagery of light in the Qur’an and literatures of the Islamic lands, to the practical role of light in buildings, paintings, performances, photography, and other artworks produced over the past fourteen centuries. The keynote address, “Contemporary Islamic Art,” was delivered by Shirin Neshat, an Iranian born artist /filmmaker currently living in the United States. Represented by Gladstone Gallery in New York, her work is shown at galleries and museums worldwide. In 1999, she was awarded the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennale for two
Previous symposia were held in 2004 in Richmond, Virginia, in 2007
films, Turbulent and Rapture. In 2006, she was awarded the Dorothy
and in 2011 in Doha, Qatar and in 2009 in Cordoba, Spain. Since 2007,
and Lillian Gish Prize and in 2009, Neshat won the Silver Lion for Best
the proceedings of each symposium have been published by Yale
Director at the 66th Venice Film Festival for Women Without Men. She
University Press. Rivers of Paradise: Water in Islamic Art and Culture
is currently working on her second feature film on the Egyptian singer,
appeared in 2007, And Diverse Are Their Hues: Color in Islamic Art and
“Oum Kolthum,” which is expected to be released in 2015. The Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art is organized by Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom who have shared the Hamad
Culture was published in 2011 and God Is Beautiful and Loves Beauty appeared in 2013. The papers from this symposium will be released as a collection in 2015.
bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University since its establishment in 2006. God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth was sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Qatar Foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa University and the University of Palermo.
Issue 3 — 67
A D E ST I N AT I O N F O R D I A LO G U E
his youth at sea with a pearl-fishing fleet before beginning his work in Qatar’s oil industry in 1946. Describing the host of new experiences that he and his fellow oil workers encountered at that time, Muftah recalled: We were seeing so many things of the like of which we had never even imagined. Colored tins, pineapples, pears, oranges, all kinds of strange wonders. By looking to Qatar’s past to stimulate innovative new works in art and design, this exhibition provided the opportunity for artists and viewers alike to consider and explore their own personal, contemporary and even tangential “strange wonders.” Participating faculty and staff included Law Alsobrook, Ryan Browning, Marco Bruno, Paolo Cardini, Nathan Ross Davis, Diane Derr, Monique Fouquet, Levi Hammett, Fleming Jeffries, Ali Khan, Kelley Lowe, Thomas Modeen, Simone Muscolino, Jesse Payne, Faculty Works Strange Wonders VCUQatar Faculty Exhibition 2014—Strange Wonders—was presented in collaboration with Msheireb Properties from April 14-May 6, 2014 at the Msheireb Enrichment Centre, moored off the Doha Corniche. Each year, VCUQatar hosts an exhibition that showcases new art and design created by current university faculty and staff. This year saw the first collaboration with Msheireb Properties, with the exhibition installed in the Enrichment Centre, an educational portal that showcases Qatar’s past and its ambitious plans for the future. The title of the show, Strange Wonders, was based on a direct quotation attributed to one of Qatar’s first oil pioneers, Thamir Muftah, who spent
68 — Issue 3
Michael Perrone, Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, Ryan Rasmussen, Christine Tien Wang and Annette Wendling-Willeke.
A D E ST I N AT I O N F O R D I A LO G U E
Lines in the Sand VCUQatar Gallery exhibition Lines in the Sand brought together realms that seemed at first to be mutually exclusive – the historical and the contemporary; the real and the virtual; the tangible and the intangible. This collaborative project involving VCUQatar, the University of Wales and the Qatar Museums unearthed Qatar’s rich and complex history through interactive media designed to create new and alternate frameworks through which we may view, use and engage with the past. The exhibition was curated by Caitlín Doherty. Projects were created and directed by Diane Derr who worked with Law Alsobrook, Leslie Forehand, Mirza Baig, Al Hussein Wanas, Zoe Donald, Hassan Wanas and Dr. Andrew Petersen. The exhibition was funded by a VCUQatar Faculty Research Grant and built upon the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP)-funded project ‘Visualizing Qatar’s Past.’ In 2011, VCUQatar, the University of Wales, and the Qatar Museums Authority began collaboratively working on the NPRP-funded project ‘Visualizing Qatar’s Past.’ The principle aim of this project was to expand the visual aspects of Qatar’s diverse cultural heritage through the documentation and preservation of a publicly accessible record, using new methods of recording and analysis based on the use of UAV photography and video. Building upon collaborative research done at Al Ruwayda archaeological site, Lines in the Sand moves archeology into the contemporary gallery and thus enables new and dynamic interactions, insights and juxtapositions. This, in turn, provides critical understanding of Qatar’s past, and encourages the construction of individual narratives.
Issue 3 — 69
FOSTERING Co m m u n i t y In v o l v e m e n t
A Teacher’s House for the Muen Phem School Taking advantage of an opportunity to combine learning with service, the Interior Design department at VCUQatar facilitated the construction of teacher accommodations for the Karen Hill tribe’s Muen Phem School in the hills north of Chiang Mai, Thailand from December 2013 to January 2014. Several trips had been taken to the area in recent years, each focusing on improvement projects for the school and its surrounding community. When discussion of the school’s difficulty with teacher retention arose, it became clear to faculty chaperones that an on-campus house would greatly benefit the quality of education at Muen Phem. It would likewise give IDES students a chance to hone their skills in design and construction in a hands-on, collaborative way. The school teamed up with service-learning facilitators Into the Wild, while students Fahad Al Kuwari and Samira Abbas drafted designs for the house, and longtime university supporter, Qatari architect Ibrahim Jaidah, provided funding for construction. Participating VCUQatar students from various departments pitched in on the project—mixing cement, building walls, tiling, and painting. The week spent in Thailand proved enriching and instructive, according to Interior Design Assistant Professor Maysaa Al Mumin, who said, “We use these trips to achieve many things, one of which is to give the students direct experience with design and construction. It vastly improves the ability to design once you have felt the material and have learnt how to build with it. Inevitably along the way, with teamwork, we create bonds of respect and friendships between students as well as with faculty.”
ROTA and VCUQatar Join Forces Fifteen students, five faculty and one alumna traveled to Bayat Village, Klaten District, Indonesia in May 2014 as volunteers on a trip organized by Reach Out to Asia (ROTA). On this trip, ROTA, Titian Foundation and VCUQatar co-launched the Indoartamics project, developed as a result of the 2011 volunteer trip to Indonesia. This program builds the capacity of Bayat School students, alumni, local craftswomen and local artists through intensive training, workshops, and experimentation. The 2014 trip built on the success of the previous three trips, offering a series of improved peer-to-peer workshops, teacher workshops and a series of opportunities for VCUQatar students to engage in locally-based applicable community service in Doha.
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FO ST E R I N G C O M M U N I T Y I N VO LV E M E N T
Zwara: First Annual Open House VCUQatar held its first annual open house ‘Zwara’ [the Arabic (Khaleeji) word for a home visit and get-together] in the fall of 2013. The event was designed to encourage the community to learn more about VCUQatar and its programs, offerings and new developments. The afternoon event was filled with activities for children, families, community members and prospective students including games, workshops, demonstrations, campus tours and exhibitions. VCUQatar faculty, staff and students assisted with coordinating the event and helping the community understand what it is we do at VCUQatar. The university welcomed over 400 visitors from the community to the campus.
Issue 3 — 71
FO ST E R I N G C O M M U N I T Y I N VO LV E M E N T
Community Classes The Community Class Program at VCUQatar offers up to 50 different art, craft and design courses in areas such as photography and film, drawing and painting, crafts, fashion, interior and graphic design, and computer-aided design in fall, spring and late spring. During 2013-2014, 1040 community members participated in the program.
Youth Programs in Art and Design The youth programs at VCUQatar allow children
the older age groups included a museum or
and youth to explore a wide range of materials
gallery visit and all programs culminate in an
and techniques as they develop an appreciation
exhibition of student work, which is open to
for art and design.
the families of the participants.
During the academic year 2013-14, VCUQatar
In late spring 2014, VCUQatar offered a six-
offered a number of community art and design
week course in Fashion Illustration to 10 Qatari
programs to K-12 level students taught by VCU
students aged 12-14 at Al Bayyan Preparatory
Richmond School of the Arts art educators.
School. The course ended with an exhibition
Programs included Art Fun and Art Exploration
open to the entire school and the families of
offered to younger students who explore a variety
the students.
of techniques in fun and playful setting; Creative Discovery, a two-week art and design induction for 13-15 year old high school students; and the three-week Design Intensive Program designed for ages 16 and above. The summer programs for
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FO ST E R I N G C O M M U N I T Y I N VO LV E M E N T
Portfolio Development VCUQatar offered five portfolio development courses during Fall 2013 to 79 high school students. Classes were taught by VCUQatar faculty and focused on skill development and creative process. The portfolio development classes are an important step towards art and design college admission. They provide high school students with the opportunity to strengthen their portfolios and further develop basic art and design skills.
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CLASS OF 2 014
02
01 President Michael Rao 02 Mohammed Saeed Harib 01
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C L A SS O F 2014
Commencement 2014
Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar held its 2014 Commencement Ceremony on May 6, 2014 at the Education City Student Center, conferring Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fashion, graphic, interior design and painting and printmaking, and Master of Fine Arts degrees in design. “You are educated citizens who will enrich the lives of those you touch,” said VCUQatar Dean Allyson Vanstone in her message to the graduating students. “As critical artists, designers and scholars, you will build bridges of understanding between cultures through your work. There are significant challenges in our world that need your attention and passion. You have the knowledge, skills and abilities to approach any challenge with creative experimentation, collaboration and commitment.” “You have been exceptional representatives of VCU in Qatar, Richmond and throughout the world. I have no doubt that you will continue to serve as worthy ambassadors for the university by building upon our reputation for excellence and becoming leaders in your chosen field both at home and abroad,” she added. Virginia Commonwealth University President Dr. Michael Rao addressed the graduating students during the ceremony. “You are also continuing a great legacy at Virginia Commonwealth University. I’ll be back in Richmond in a few days and I will take with me your passion, creativity, and commitment to sharing your gifts with a world that’s desperate for innovation—including innovation through visual imagery. I will bring back from one capital city to another, from one part of VCU to another, the never-ending assurance that our graduates—no matter where they live, or where they go—are going to use their talents and gifts to change the world. And from Doha to Richmond, it will be beautiful.” Animation Director and Chairman of Lammtara Art Production Mohammed Saeed Harib delivered the commencement address to the graduates during the afternoon ceremonies. He talked about his journey through the world of design – how he was the only male art student of the 100 Emiratis studying in the US. He elaborated on the numerous obstacles he faced before he was granted funding for his beloved animated TV series Freej, and how that success marked the beginning of a journey which now encompasses projects in folklore, wedding production, music production, photography, films, event planning, and more. He explained that Freej was borne out of a desire to create a regional superhero, so he created one based on his grandmother, Umm Al Saeed. Likening them to Umm Al Saeed, he told students that they were the everyday superheroes Qatar is in need of, and encouraged them to contribute to the country with their creativity. “When I was a child I watched movies like The Lion King and when I started working on Freej in 2006, I worked with the director of The Lion King—so dream big, don’t let people tell you, you can’t. Your country needs you.”
Convocation 2014 Hamad bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) Senior Convocation took
His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani,
place on May 6, 2014 at the Qatar National Convention Center.
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar
During the Convocation, 549 students from Virginia Commonwealth
Foundation, and President of HBKU, and Vice President of Education
University in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Texas A&M
at QF His Excellency Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani were joined by univer-
University at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Georgetown
sity presidents, deans and faculty members in celebrating the success
University – School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Qatar Faculty of Islamic
of Qatar Foundation’s latest graduates.
Studies, HEC Paris in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar and HBKU’s Translation and Interpreting Institute were honored in front of family and friends.
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C L A SS O F 2014
BFA & MFA Exhibition & Annual Fashion Show ‘BFA & MFA Exhibition,’ the annual exhibition of VCUQatar’s graduating artists and designers opened with a reception on May 4, 2014. Featuring a wide range of work that represented the culmination of the techniques and concepts developed throughout their coursework, the exhibition invited visitors to discover the departmental exhibition zones for the BFA exhibition, and graudate work in the Gallery, for the MFA exhibition. VCUQatar’s fifteenth annual fashion show, ‘Center Front,’ hosted by Salam at The Gate Mall, showcased the work of 16 graduating seniors whose eclectic thesis collections consisted of 10 day-to-evening looks featuring a range of design features that reinforced each student’s individual vision, creativity and style. “Graduation is, of course, a hugely exciting time for our students, and a culmination of their experience at VCUQatar,” said Caitlín Doherty, exhibitions and speaker curator at VCUQatar. “It is particularly exciting, therefore, that the BFA and MFA Exhibition forms part of these celebrations because it provides an opportunity, really for the first time, to bring together all of our graduating students, from across all design disciplines, and showcase their creative achievements. For most, this is the first time that they have formally exhibited, not as students, but rather as artists and designers, and so this is a wonderful opportunity for family, friends, and the general public to see their work, but also for industry representatives to see the work of emerging talent here in Qatar.”
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THANK YOU VCUQatar’s remarkable achievements would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors who contributed their time, talents and gifts to make the University the success it is today. It is this thoughtfulness that will allow VCUQatar to continue on its journey of creativity and innovation.
S C H O L A R S H I P S & G I F T S 201 3–14 A R A B E N G I N E E R I N G B U R E AU A S TA D M A E R S K O I L Q ATA R Q.M E D I A Q ATA R M U S EU M S Q ATA R O LY M PI C CO M M IT TE E SA R A H A B D U LG H A N I SA L A M S TU D I O & S TO R E S
M E M B E R S O F T H E J O I N T A D V I S O R Y B O A R D 201 3– 2014 CO - CH A I R D R. DAVI D PR I O R PROVO S T & E XECUTIVE VP, H A M A D B I N K H A LI FA U N IVE R S IT Y (FO R M E R) CO - CH A I R D R. B E VE R LY WA R R E N PROVO S T & VI CE PR E S I D E NT FO R AC A D E M I C A FFA I R S, VCU (FO R M E R)
MEMBERS JAY CO O GA N PR E S I D E NT, M I N N E A P O LI S CO LLEG E O F A RT & D E S I G N D R. A H M E D H A S N A H E XECUTIVE VI CE PR E S I D E NT A N D PROVO S T, H B KU SA M U E L H O I PR E S I D E NT, M A RY L A N D I N S TITUTE CO LLEG E O F A RT J E FFR E Y N E S I N PROVO S T, S CH O O L O F VI S UA L A RT S DAVI D RO S S G E N E R A L CO U N S E L , VCU (FO R M E R) J O S E PH S E I PE L D E A N, S CH O O L O F TH E A RT S, VCU D R. J E LE N A TR KU L JA D I R EC TO R O F E D U C ATI O N, Q ATA R M U S EU M S AUTH O R IT Y
E X- O F F I C I O M E M B E R S H.E. D R. A B D U LL A A L TH A N I PR E S I D E NT, H A M A D B I N K H A LI FA U N IVE R S IT Y A LLYS O N VA N S TO N E D E A N, VCU Q ATA R
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CONTEXT CREDITS
©Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar The VCUQatar Magazine is published annually by the Office of Communications & External Relations. We welcome your comments (vcuqatarcomm@vcu.edu).
E D ITO R Meike Kaan WR ITE R S Lauren Maas Priya Lorraine Dominica D’Souza DESIGN Jordan Gushwa Sara Shaaban Haya Sayel Daher Moza Khalifa Al-Suwaidi PR IN CIPAL PH OTO G R APH E R S Markus Elblaus Sarah Lauck CO NTR IBUTO R S Byrad Yyelland Johan Granberg Patricia Duignan Peter Chomowicz Rhys Himsworth Valerie Jeremijenko CO PY E D ITO R S Annabel Armstrong-Clarke Ashley Burton TR AN S L ATO R S Adel Jamal Awad Nadya Abu Dayeh
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80 — Issue 3
Published on Apr 21, 2015
Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar's annual magazine
Published on Apr 21, 2015
Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar's annual magazine