Doha: Tasmeem Doha 2019, the international art and design conference, which was hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) in Education City, concluded after three days of exciting workshops, talks, exhibitions by renowned artists and designers from the region and around the world.
The university’s campus was transformed into a mini design district with creative, quirky and impressive installations and artsy kiosks all around the central foyer. The entrance was characterised by a striking display of colourful ribbons with colours transitioning from orange to purple through which attendees passed as they entered the university.
The theme of the conference was ‘Hekayat’ (stories) and it was co-chaired by four VCUarts Qatar alumni: Hadeer Omar, Noha Fouad, Wajiha Pervez, and Yasmeen Suleiman. The event attracted people of all ages from a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and interests.
Dr Donald Baker, VCUarts Qatar’s Executive Dean, said, “Tasmeem Doha strikes me as a unique and very effective way to bring students and faculty members together around common interests and concerns, providing a shared body of ideas, observations, and experiences to fuel ongoing dialogue.”
Tasmeem Doha featured speakers such as Ahmed Alrefaie, an illustrator and graphic designer from Kuwait; and Rana Beiruti, director and co-founder of Amman Design Week. The opening keynote speaker was Sir David Adjaye, OBE, the Founder and Principal of Adjaye Associates. An architect with an artist’s sensibility, his largest project to date is the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. Attendees had the opportunity to meet and engage with the speakers of their choice in Tasmeem Doha event called the “Swalif Sessions”.
Tehran-based artist Ali Phi’s exhibition ‘QAL, the anti-carpet’, the key elements of which were Persian carpets and Persian gardens, and his audio-visual performance of ‘Elemaun’, combined stunning visuals inspired by Persian motifs with rhythmic electronic beats sampling the ritual and regional music of Iran.
Workshops during Tasmeem Doha included everything from Palestinian embroidery and architectural imagery and typography, to a workshop incorporating cooking and woodworking, as well as sculpting, virtual reality, calligraphy, coding, and T-shirt design by the likes of Gary Webb, Samer Fouad, Armor Gutiérrez Rivas and 2015/16 VCUarts Qatar Artist-in-Residence Nastassja Swift, and by students from VCUarts Qatar and the university’s home campus.
