Innovation, Collaboration and Sustainability at the BFA+MFA Exhibition

The exhibition, which is open until May 28, highlights the impressive efforts of VCUQatar’s graduating students from the BFA and MFA degree programs.  The works on display cover the graphic, interior, fashion design, and painting and printmaking disciplines.

There was a large attendance on the opening day, with friends, families, and many others turning up for the event. The yearly exhibition is considered to be an excellent way to discover the outstanding works of a new generation of art and design talent in Qatar.

Cherif Amor, chair of Interior Design at VCUQatar emphasized the importance of nurturing a culturally diverse learning experience for the students. Amor explained: “Diversity is highly important, along with innovation, collaboration and sustainability to address the needs of the ‘glocal’ contexts,” he said, using the adjective that refers to global and local settings.

“Geared to the Stars,” for example, by BFA graphic design graduate Abdul Rahman Anwar, is about fostering a sense of curiosity and wonder in astronomy. In a somewhat related theme, BFA interior design graduate Mark Bermejo’s thesis is on Mars simulations spaces on Earth, and looks at the possible designs for colonies on Mars.

BFA interior design Bettina Bressel Jensen focused on sustainable principles in her thesis, while MFA graduate Nesma Khodier’s thesis considered the future of Arabic music, with her display of (for the lack of a better description) electronic Arab musical instruments. Her fellow MFA graduate Barbara Charrue looked at encouraging social interaction between communities and local artists through participatory public art programs.

Also on show are several dresses by the graduates of the fashion design program, and those designs sit opposite those of the other BFA graduates in Room 390, while the works of the MFA graduates are at VCUQatar’s gallery, and nearby at the Saffron Hall.

Entry to the exhibition is free and open to the public. It will remain open until May 21 for the BFA exhibition at Room 390, and May 28 for the MFA exhibition at the Gallery.

All are welcome.