Works by Alumni, Faculty and Staff on Display in Shanghai Exhibition

“Watering the Desert” involves a number of collaborations with other Qatar Museums and partner organizations in Qatar, with notable contributions from VCUarts Qatar and Doha Film Institute. 

Works by VCUarts Qatar alumni, faculty and staff are amongst those on display at an exhibition titled, “Watering the Desert | Contemporary Art from Qatar”

It is taking place at Yuz Museum in Shanghai, China until March 3 2024. 

Several of our alumni and faculty traveled to Shanghai for the opening. 

“Watering the Desert” is the first large-scale exhibition of contemporary art from Qatar to be showcased in China, and it bridges the gap between Qatar’s traditional practices and modern transformative spirit. 

Curated by Qatar Museums’ Issa Al Shirawi and Maryam Hassan Al Thani, the exhibition is organized by Qatar Museums in collaboration with Yuz Museum. It showcases the work of 37 multidisciplinary artists, designers, and filmmakers working within Qatar’s artistic scene. 

It includes an impressive array of multidisciplinary projects that focus on four interconnected themes: vivid recollections of shared experiences, commentary on complex social dynamics regarding the concept of home, urban transformations, and the fusion of art and the natural environment. 

“Watering the Desert” involves a number of collaborations with other Qatar Museums and partner organizations in Qatar, with notable contributions from VCUarts Qatar and Doha Film Institute. 

Several of the exhibited works were created by members of VCUarts Qatar’s Institute for Creative Research, and a number of the artists previously participated in the Fire Station: Artist in Residence program created and operated by Qatar Museums.

The exhibition’s artists are Sebastián Betancur-Montoya, Hassan bin Mohammed Al Thani, Noora Al Hardan, Hadeer Omar, Michael Hersrud and Simone Muscolino, Sophia Al Maria, Mubarak Nasser Al Thani, Markus Elblaus, Maryam Al-Homaid, Noor Abuissa, Salman Al Malik, Bouthayna Al Muftah, Abdulrahman AlMuftah, Aisha Al-Sowaidi, Hana Al-Saadi, Ghada Al-Khater, Yousef Ahmad Al-Homaid, Christto Andrew, Giovanni Inella, Hala Amer, Saga Elkabbash, Levi Hammett and George Paul, Anfal al Kandari, Alya Al Khalifa and Guillaume Rousere, Naila Al Thani, Amena Al Yousef, Saida Al Khulaifi, Water with Water, (IN)>Tangible Lab, Shaima Al Tamimi and Mariam Salim, Majid Al Remaihi, Amal Al Muftah, and Jassim Al Rumaihi.

“Watering the Desert | Contemporary Art from Qatar” is part of a wider partnership formed in 2019 between QM, Yuz Museum, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

The collaboration was established with the goal of jointly developing and sharing exhibitions and cultural programs across these prestigious institutions, effectively creating a multi-site exhibition program with a truly global perspective. 

Photographs courtesy of Qatar Museums and Yuz Museum.