VCUarts Qatar’s Annual Qatar Week takes place in Richmond

A series of events highlighting the skills, experiences and achievements of VCUarts Qatar’s alumni, faculty and students recently took place during Qatar Week at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. 

This year, Qatar Week spanned October 14^th to 17^th, and opened with an Exhibition at Anderson Gallery comprised of works by VCUarts Qatar Foundation year students.   Amir Berbić, Dean of VCUarts Qatar, welcomed everyone to the exhibition, entitled, “Art and Design as a Form of Cultural Expression.”  

Dean Berbić said, “Today we celebrate the remarkable talent of our students, whose work not only reflects their individual creativity but also speaks to the rich tapestry of cultural narratives that shape our very special overseas campus in Qatar.”

Dean Berbić shared a heartfelt thank you to Chase Westfall, Director of the Anderson, and to the Gallery team from VCUarts Qatar, Dina Alkhateeb and Meriem Aiouna for their work bringing the exhibition to Richmond.  

Later that evening, VCUarts Dean Carmenita Higginbotham, and VCUarts Qatar Dean Amir Berbić hosted a reception at historic Scott House, where VCU President Dr. Michael Rao and Lolwa Al-Naemi, Qatar Foundation Director of Strategic Partnerships, were featured speakers. 

 “We have benefitted from the vision of the Qatar Foundation to better the world through education, research and human development,” said Dr. Rao, “we are grateful to Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and to Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani for their ongoing exceptional leadership,” he said, “As a result of our partnership, VCUarts Qatar has become a worldwide leader in creativity and design, underpinned by a culture of innovation and experimentation.”

Lolwa Al-Naemi spoke following Dr. Rao, sharing QF’s appreciation for the longstanding partnership and playing a video for the assembled guests that captures the comprehensive impact of the Qatar Foundation on multiple sectors, including higher education.

Qatar Week also featured the Research Pecha Kucha, back by popular demand.  The Pecha Kucha was opened by Dr. Carmenita Higginbotham, Dean for VCUarts, who noted the remarkable achievements of both schools’ research endeavors.

Presenting faculty from VCUarts were Corin Hewitt, Sculpture + Extended Media; Ernesto Rodriguez Cruz, Communication Arts; Hope Ginsberg, Kinetic Imaging; Michelle Yee, Art History and Herdimas Anggara, Graphic Design. 

Tamer Nadeem of College of Engineering, VCU presented with Basma Hamdy of VCUarts Qatar.

The other presenting VCUarts Qatar faculty were Rab McClure & Rola Al Soubaihi, Graduate Studies & Liberal Arts and Sciences; Louis-Philippe Demers, Kinetic Imaging; Marco Bruno, Graduate Studies and Neelima Jeychandran, Art History. 

The Research Pecha Kucha featured ten fast-paced presentations by both VCUarts and VCUarts Qatar’s faculty researchers.  Topics ranged from Arabic type and AI, to sustainability and reuse, to machine learning and robotics.  

Qatar Week wrapped up with a Student Dialogue, where students from both campuses engaged in presentations and discussion about art, student leadership, semester exchange and new areas of collaboration between the two campuses.

In closing Qatar Week, Dean Berbić declared it another successful outing. “Through this week’s events and exchanges we have had the opportunity to share with our home campus community the impact that our art and design school is having in Qatar and learn more about the many research activities and achievements happening on the home campus.”