Past Events 2009
Wednesday January 28, 2009 at 1930
Threads of History: Textiles of the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates
Venue: Atrium in VCUQatar
Dr. Jochen Sokoly will deliver a lecture entitled 'Threads of History: Textiles of the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates', focusing on a group of inscribed textiles from Egypt and the Central Islamic lands commonly known as tiraz textiles.
The term tiraz, although subject to some scholarly debate, refers to an inscription that contains historical content referring to an official commission by an Islamic ruler or one of his representatives. It usually lists the name of the ruler, and his titles, as well as administrative information relating to the object's manufacture. It is the historical content of these textile inscriptions which makes them a valuable resource for historical research into the Caliphal administration of the early Islamic period. Apart from the content of the inscriptions, this group of textiles is significant archaeologically, as it offers a glimpse into the burial practices of the early Islamic period in Egypt.
The lecture is open to the public.
Wednesdays January 14 until February 25, 2009 at 1800
Admission Information Sessions in English and Arabic
Venue: Carnegie Mellon Building
At Education City, students are equipped to be innovative thinkers moving forward to tackle real-world issues. Education City offers majors in the fields of Fashion Design, Graphic Design and Interior Design, Medicine, Engineering Business Administration, Computer Science, Information Systems, International Politics, Culture & Politics and Communication Journalism.
Learn more about the full-time university programs in Education City by visiting the Admission Information Sessions. Separate sessions will be offered in English and Arabic. No advance registration is required. For more information, call +974 492 7238 or email ug- | admission@qatar.cmu.edu
February 18 - March 7, 2009
Faces and Letters: Through the Eyes of Collectors in Qatar
Selected list of art and artists through the eyes of collectors in Qatar.
Reception: Wednesday, February 18 at 1930
Venue: The Gallery, VCUQatar
February 28 - March 5, 2009
Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week in Qatar
Mousharaka / The Icograda Design Week in Qatar, presented by VCUQatar, is composed of the Education Symposium and the Professional Conference, where prominent speakers will share perspectives on design and design collaborations. VCUQatar is also spearheading the creation of MEDEA - the Middle East Design Educators Association - a platform for educators charged with getting the most out of design. For more information about Mousharaka, featured speakers and events, and to register please visit http://www.mousharaka.com/
March 18 - April 15, 2009
Nada Sehnaoui - Rubble
Reception March 18 at 1930
Nada Sehnaoui, a visual artist living and working in Beirut, will create an installation at The Gallery in VCUQatar conceived as a space of meditation on the bombardment of Beirut by Israeli warplanes in the summer of 2006. The work will comprise 125 stools covered in photographs that the artist took in the suburbs of Beirut of bombarded and collapsed buildings. The installation will be opened to the public on March 18 at 7.30pm followed by a reception.
April 22 - August 20, 2009
Senior Exhibition
Reception April 22 at 1830
VCUQatar is hosting Career Day on 22 April so students can meet prospective employers at the event. Registration is from 2:30 to 3:00 PM. Students will set up booths in the atrium and be present with a portfolio of their work. Prospective employers are welcome to tour the booths from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM and speak to the students. At 6:30 PM the Gallery will host the reception for the Senior Exhibition. Senior Students' work will go on display in the Gallery until 20 August.
QatarNow: Ali Hassan - A Retrospective
September 9 - October 10
Curated by Dr. Abdulla Al Thani and Jochen Sokoly in cooperation with Al-Markhia Gallery, Doha.
The exhibition is scheduled from 9 September - 10 October 2009 at The Gallery in Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar and is open Sundays to Thursdays, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or by prior appointment. A reception will be held at the gallery on 9 September 2009 at 9:00 PM.
Calligraphy: Tradition to Contemporary Practice
Tuesday 15, September 2009
Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar's Graphic Design Department presents a lecture by renowned Iraqi calligrapher Wissam Shawkat entitled 'Calligraphy: Tradition to Contemporary Practice' on 15, September 2009 at 7:00 PM at the atrium in VCUQatar. Iftar is at 6:00 PM and the public is invited to both the iftar and the lecture.
Ramadan Bazaar
Wednesday 16, September 2009
VCUQatar is hosting a Ramadan bazaar on Wednesday, September 16 for local artists and designers to showcase and sell their products. All registration fees paid by the vendors are going to a local Eid charity. Vendors will be selling arts and crafts, traditional foods, jellabiyahs, and other festive items. The timings are 10:00AM - 1:00PM and 7:30PM - 11:00PM.
OffGrid
October 13
A lecture by Johan Granberg, focusing on his two-year stay in Papua New Guinea highlighting his experiences teaching design and working as a designer in an indigineous culture.
The Doha Ivory Box: Fabulous or Fake?
October 20
Oliver Watson's lecture focuses on an object that has been the subject of considerable controversy: an inscribed penbox of intricately-carved ivory, dated 394H/1003 AD, which is part of the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. The box, made of intricately carved ivory, is dated 394H/1003 AD and can be related to a splendid known group of carved ivories from Islamic Spain. However, it comprises a number of strange features, including bad spelling mistakes in its inscription and, therefore, doubt was thrown on its authenticity by several scholars and specialists. Dr. Watson's research has now resolved the urgent question is it a fabulous and important medieval object, or is it a sophisticated fake?
The Gallery Presents 'Transit'
Reception and Opening: October 21, 8:00pm
Exhibition: October 21 - November 21
The exhibition transit brings together the works of four Australian visual artists: Meredith Brice, Stephen Copland, Karee S Dahl and Colin Reaney.
Formerly resident in the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE, both artist couples have focused on a common theme in their work: the notion of an itinerant art practice built on responses to shifts and movements in moving through and living within different context within the Global Village. Notions of home, homeland and material utopias seek to explain the response to garner a sense of identity and space. The four artists' work explores and underscores through relationship the commonalities, differences and uniqueness in artistic practice.
A reception will be held at the gallery on 21 October 2009 at 8:00 pm.
The exhibition is scheduled from 21 October - 21 November 2009.
The Gallery | Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar is open Saturdays to Thursdays, 10:00am - 5:00 pm, or by prior appointment.
ACM SIGGRAPH Doha: Electronic Theater Screening
October 22 2009 at 4.30pm
The first meeting of the Doha chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group in Computer Graphics (ACM Siggraph).
Muqeem Khan, Assistant Professor at VCUQatar, will be presenting his research in virtual reality and 3D interactive technologies. After the presentation, guests will watch examples of some of the best animation from around the world. Professor Khan's motion picture credits, as a visual effect artist with Walt Disney, are 'Deep Rising', 'George of the Jungle', 'Flubber' and 'Armageddon'.
The event is free and open to the public, and will be an opportunity to meet and network with the speakers and other participants.
Islamic Art Symposium
November 2 - 4, 2009.
VCUQatar is proud to present the third biannual Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art entitled "Diverse Are Their Hues".
Organized by Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom the symposium will take place in Cordoba, Spain. To register to attend please visit: http://www.islamicartdoha.org/