MFA in Design: MFA ON-THE-GO

List of Chapters

Dedicated to building cross-cultural, interdisciplinary collaborations between the MFA program and experienced fabricators, makers and artisans from across the globe.

A funded benefit of enrollment, each year students and faculty from The MFA in Design program at VCUarts Qatar travel together to conduct an annual field study trip abroad, a distinguishing feature of our program. Each year’s field study culminates in an immersive week-long workshop, where we collaboratively produce tangible objects of cultural relevance to our home in Qatar, which we then exhibit and publicize in ways that showcase the capabilities of our students and faculty to the wider community.

2022 Liencres, Spain

Virga

Virga explores the intersection of steam bending and digital fabrication to produce a lighting installation inspired by clouds.

2021 Turin, Italy

Melting Pottery

Melting Pottery employs computational design and 3D-printed clay to generate mix-and-match collections of vases that showcase and celebrate the diversity of our community.

2020 Doha, Qatar

Temporal Reliquaries

Temporal Reliquaries combine two durable materials—stone and glazed stoneware—to house fragile or fleeting contents, made in Doha in a year when we could not travel.

2019 Marrakesh, Morocco

Moroccan Brass

Moroccan Brass leverages the traditional techniques and skills of artisanal metalworkers to envision new, modern lamp forms.

2018 Bath, England

Digital Fanoos

Digital Fanoos re-envisions the traditional Arabic lantern as a portable, programmable lamp, made from mold-blown glass and bespoke components.

2017 Oldeberkoop, the Netherlands

Modern Prayer Rug

Modern Prayer Rug enhances traditional felt-making techniques with laser cut templates and resists to produce original prayer rugs from merino wool and camel hair.