Exhibition and Workshops to Explore the Role of Print in Contemporary Culture

An exhibition at the University’s Gallery will focus on the first seven years of the University’s Fanoon Center For Printmedia Research, the only print publishing program in the Gulf.

The exhibition will include selected works by the Fanoon Center’s many and renowned visiting artists who created original print works during their stays. The exhibition is curated by VCUarts Qatar Painting and Printmaking (PAPR) professors Fleming Jeffries, Zachary Stensen, and Rhys Himsworth.

“Fanoon: Highlights 2012-2019” will also include a program of workshops, panel discussions, and tours, as well as a lecture and demonstration by master printmaker Koichi Yamamoto. The workshops, which will take place every Tuesday from 12:30 to 2pm at VCUarts Qatar until October 22, will focus on different kinds of printmaking techniques, and will be conducted by faculty and students from the University.

The opening reception for “Fanoon: Highlights 2012-2019” will take place on September 11 at 6pm at the University’s Gallery. All are welcome.

It will include a panel discussion on the art of printmaking, artist career paths, and the artists’ Fanoon experiences, and will feature 2014 Fanoon artist Diyan Achjadi, and University alumna and Fall 2019 Fanoon artist Bouthayna Al-Muftah. The panel discussion will be moderated by Fanoon co-founder Rhys Himsworth, who was the Chair of the University’s Painting and Printmaking department from 2011 to 2018.

Qatar Foundation’s Art Trail tours will be visiting the exhibition on two occasions. The first tour will take place on Thursday, September 12, from 12:30 to 1:30pm in the presence of the curators and guest artist Diyan Achjadi, while the second tour will take place on Saturday, October 5 at 10am with curators Fleming Jeffries and Zachary Stensen.

The Fanoon Center, which is part of the Painting and Printmaking department at VCUarts Qatar, collaborates with local, regional, and international artists to explore the role of print in contemporary culture. Altogether the works of 20 artists, including sculptor Ranjani Shettar, Syrian graphic designer and artist Fares Cachoux, Pakistani-American visual artist Shahzia Sikander, and African-American mixed-media artist Trenton Doyle Hancock, will be on display.

The Fanoon Center aims to expand the possibilities of print in the 21st century by selecting artists who can engage with printmaking from a variety of perspectives, disciplines and approaches.

The works will be by: Bryan Graf, Bryan Jabs, Chloe Lum and Yannick Desranleau, Diyan Achjadi, Fares Cachoux, Jenny Schmid, John D. Freyer, Katie Vida, Koichi Yamamoto, Las Hermanas Iglesias, Mary Laube, Michael Perrone, Ranjani Shettar, Sean Kuhnke, Shahzia Sikander, Shaurya Kumar, Sonya Clark, Susan Chrysler White, and Trenton Doyle Hancock.

The workshops and tours will take place on:

• Thursday, September 12 at 12:30pm: Qatar Foundation Art Trail Tour visit to the Gallery
• Tuesday, September 17 at 12:30pm: workshop with PAPR department at the University’s Gallery
• Friday, September 20 at 1pm: civic engagement workshop for Nepali workers at the University’s Gallery
• Tuesday, September 24 at 12:30pm: workshop with PAPR department at the University’s Gallery
• Tuesday, October 1 at 12:30pm: workshop with PAPR department at the University’s Gallery
• Saturday, October 5 at 10am: Qatar Foundation Art Trail Tour at the University’s Gallery
• Tuesday, October 8 at 12:30pm: workshop with PAPR department at the University’s Gallery
• Sunday, October 20 at 1pm: demonstration by Koichi Yamamoto at the University’s Gallery
• Tuesday, October 22 at 12:30pm: lecture by Koichi Yamamoto at the University’s Atrium.

For more information on the workshops, please contact [email protected]

Gallery opening hours: Saturday to Thursday – From 9am to 5pm / Friday – Closed