VCUQatar Assistant Professor Teaches First Workshop in CMUQs R-TISt program

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatars Assistant Professor for Design Foundation, Jesse Payne taught the first workshop in a program called R-TISt through Carnegie Mellon University in Qatars Doha Community Engagement Program (DCEP).

‘Doha Community Engagement Program’ (DCEP) is a program whereby students from CMU can submit a proposal of an idea for improving the Qatar community and will receive funding for expenses to complete the project. The program is aimed to significantly impact a group of people in Qatar, and their quality of life in one of the following categories – health, environment, youth engagement/empowerment, women’s programming, education and underrepresented people.

CMU student Laura Jaber was selected based on her proposal – R-TISt (Reaching to Inspire Students). She is developing a community-wide art education program, which she hopes will inspire youth in the art world (painting, drawing, graphic design, etc).

Prof. Jesse Payne from VCUQatar’s Art & Design Foundation Department was involved through Ms. Jaber who has “recruited” a few individuals from the community to volunteer their time and help in making her project a success. “Prof. Payne kicked off the first class on the 5th of February, and there will be a series of workshops with different volunteers. We are fortunate that he agreed to do one of them,” said Jumana Al-Abdi, director of Personal Development at CMUQ. Prof. Payne’s class focused on creating the illusion of something three-dimensional on a two-dimensional surface through utilizing “chiaroscuro”, and understanding the properties of light and shadow. As Prof. Payne said, “Drawing is an act of seeing, observing, responding, recording, and resolving. Drawing, therefore, is everything, everywhere, and all around us. It is the world as we see it.”

The audience were students from secondary schools, which Ms. Jaber had established contact with and advertised for the program. The audience will likely change every workshop offered, as each workshop utilizes a different method of artistic expression (i.e. sketching versus painting, etc). Although it is open to secondary school students, they cannot just drop in – they would have had to register with Ms Jaber and confirm attendance.

CMU will provide coverage of Ms Jaber’s project upon completion. “We will also be hosting a semi-formal event where Laura will be able to showcase her work, students’ work, and thank volunteers,” said Ms Al-Abdi.