Events & Guided Tours

Friday, June 6

Pecha Kucha: Matter Diplopia

Join VCUarts Qatar for a dynamic Pecha Kucha event showcasing faculty voices behind Matter Diplopia, the school’s pavilion exhibition at the 2025 London Design Biennale. Faculty representatives from each of the pavilion’s nine featured projects will deliver fast-paced, visually engaging presentations—20 slides, 20 seconds each—offering insight into their research, creative practices, and the conceptual threads connecting their work to the exhibition’s central theme. This lively format invites audiences into a multifaceted exploration of materiality, perception, and transdisciplinary design thinking from the heart of the Gulf region.

Screening Room, Somerset House
1–2 PM
Open to the public
This event can be attended without a General Admission ticket.

Designer-led Tours

For the opening weekend, guests will have the special opportunity to join themed, artist- and designer-guided tours of the exhibition. 

• 3–3:30 PM – Material Innovation (Chrysalis, Greener Greenhouse, and Stone Plus)
• 4–4:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology (DUB DOUBT, Tatreez, and El Zaffah)
• 5–5:30 PM – Observing Environments (Nature’s Alchemy, Dunes and Dugongs, and Discursive Instrumentation for Urban Rhythms)

VCUarts Qatar Pavilion, Somerset House
Open to the public with General Admission ticket

See descriptions of the tour themes below

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Saturday, June 7

Alumni Panel: Refractions of Practice

VCUarts Qatar invites you to Refractions of Practice, an alumni panel discussion presented as part of the school’s participation in the 2025 London Design Biennale. Featuring alumni representatives from four projects within the Matter Diplopia pavilion exhibition, the panel will explore the exhibition’s central sub-themes: Material Innovation, Cultural Narrative and Tech, and Observing Environments. Through candid conversation and critical reflection, the alumni panelists will share how their work responds to complex global contexts while remaining grounded in the experimental, collaborative, and transdisciplinary ethos fostered at VCUarts Qatar. This event offers a unique lens into the evolving impact of alumni practice across geographies and design disciplines.

Screening Room, Somerset House
1–2 PM
Open to the public
This event can be attended without a General Admission ticket.

Designer-led Tours

For the opening weekend, guests will have the special opportunity to join themed, artist- and designer-guided tours of the exhibition.

• 3–3:30 PM – Material Innovation (Chrysalis, Greener Greenhouse, and Stone Plus)
• 4–4:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology (DUB DOUBT, Tatreez, and El Zaffah)
• 5–5:30 PM Observing Environments (Nature’s Alchemy, Dunes and Dugongs, and Discursive Instrumentation for Urban Rhythms)

VCUarts Qatar Pavilion, Somerset House
Open to the public with General Admission ticket

See descriptions of the tour themes below

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Sunday, June 8

Designer-led Tours

For the opening weekend, guests will have the special opportunity to join themed, artist- and designer-guided tours of the exhibition.

• 2–2:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology (DUB DOUBT, Tatreez, and El Zaffah)
• 3–3:30 PM – Observing Environments (Nature’s Alchemy, Dunes and Dugongs, and Discursive Instrumentation for Urban Rhythms)
• 4–4:30 PM – Material Innovation (Chrysalis, Greener Greenhouse, and Stone Plus)

VCUarts Qatar Pavilion, Somerset House
Open to the public with General Admission ticket

See descriptions of the tour themes below

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June 9-29

Guided Tours

Exhibition tours will be offered daily from the pavilion’s exhibition designers throughout the biennale. The tours are themed, each tour focuses on three of the pavilion’s nine projects, helping guests make connections and see more deeply into the shared concerns, strategies, and conversations between the projects, and of the exhibition as a whole. 

VCUarts Qatar Pavilion, Somerset House
Open to the public with General Admission ticket

From June 9-29, tour themes will rotate and will be offered according to the schedule below:

Weekday Tours: Monday-Friday

Monday

• 1–1:30 PM – Material Innovation
• 4–4:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology

Tuesday

• 1–1:30 PM – Observing Environments
• 4–4:30 PM – Material Innovation

Wednesday

• 1–1:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology
• 4–4:30 PM – Observing Environments

Thursday

• 1–1:30 PM – Material Innovation
• 4–4:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology

Friday

• 1–1:30 PM – Observing Environments
• 4–4:30 PM – Material Innovation

Weekend Tours: Saturday-Sunday

Saturday

• 1–1:30 PM – Cultural Narrative + Technology

Sunday

• 1–1:30 PM – Observing Environments

Tour Themes

Material Innovation

From experimental fabrication techniques to sustainable reimagining of traditional materials and processes, the Material Innovation tour features three projects: Chrysalis, Greener Greenhouse, and Stone Plus. Guided by the designers, the tour will highlight how faculty, students, and alumni at VCUarts Qatar use materiality as a site of exploration, problem-solving, and storytelling. Visitors will encounter works that question origin, function, and transformation—illuminating how material experimentation can open new pathways for cultural and technological inquiry.

Cultural Narrative + Technology

This tour focuses on projects that integrate cultural storytelling with technological mediations. Through a blend of digital methods, interactive media, and recontextualized traditions, the Cultural Narrative + Tech tour offers insight into three projects: DUB DOUBT, Tatreez, and El Zaffah. Visitors will explore works that reflect on memory, language, ritual, and representation, revealing how technology becomes a medium for cultural preservation and innovation.

Observing Environments

This tour brings attention to projects grounded in environmental observation—both natural and built; Nature’s Alchemy, Dunes and Dugongs, and Discursive Instrumentation for Urban Rhythms. From ecological mapping to urban textures, Observing Environments invites visitors to engage with Qatar’s evolving landscapes through critical and creative inquiry. Projects in this tour highlight how close attention to surroundings can uncover unseen patterns, challenge assumptions, and inspire new understandings of place, scale, and coexistence.