25th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition
From 26 September to 1 December, 2023
Opening Hours
9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Curator
Dr Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej
Curatorial Assistants
Sarah Mohammed
Teslim Sanni
Artists
Wurood Azzam
Nour Al Basuni
Noora Al Hardan
Maryam Al Homaid
Ghada Al Khater
Shouq Al Mana
Bouthayna Al Muftah
Hind Al Saad
Hana Al Saadi
Noora Al Saei (N&LS)
Hassan al Shehhi
Aisha Al Sowaidi
Shaikha al Sulaiti
Sarah Alafifi
Izza Alyssa
Hazem Asif
Yousef Bahzad
Nia Alexander Campbell
Dana el Ladki
Nada Elkharashi
Habeeb Futtaim
Faheem Khan
Othman Khunji
Eman Makki
Amira Mohamed
Reham Mohamed
Fatima Mohammed
Lauren Morell
Majdulin Nasrallah
Hadeer Omar
Ayaz Rauf
Dana Riad
Hawa Stwodah
Yasmeen Suleiman & Reema Abu Hassan
Amna Yandarbin
Dimitri Yuri
Sidra Zubairi
This exhibition presents the work of 39 VCUarts Qatar alumni, with Curatorial Assistance from three Art History graduates, all of whom now enjoy success in their respective fields. Currently spread over the globe, this space reunites them as they celebrate 25 years of the University’s creative existence in Qatar.
The poetic title of the Exhibition is inspired by these alumni, their projects and the country in which they studied – Qatar. Their works are presented as a curated series of narratives or historiographies and are reminiscent of the local fables of Al Khor, tales that were once narrated when people gathered around a fire, keeping memory and faith alive.
Through this story-telling approach, the Curatorial Narrative highlights the importance of a country’s past in shaping its creative future, drawing a parallel with how the past of an academic institution shapes the future of its students.
The works you see here are visionary and immersive, moving and reflective. They echo the restless, rhythmic movement of Qatari people as they traveled over the sands and seas in search of hidden treasures. They draw inspiration from the past, yet project new horizons that use new technologies and methods to envision a future of hope and creative excellence.
Based on the common themes that are found within each work, the exhibition develops across four chapters:
The Sacred
The Water (Sea),
The Land (Sand)
The Self & The Other
We invite you to move through this space much as the people who live in this country once did and still do: journeying over the land, living under starry skies, sailing across the seas – but, like these alumni, always returning.
– Dr. Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej
Prologue
by Dr. Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej, Curator
The 25th Anniversary Event Exhibition of VCUarts in Qatar, is entitled,
this Sand is made of Stars / this Sea is made of Pearls
– Horizon Historiographies.
It is the result of the creative coming together of an international group of VCUarts- Qatar alumni coming from Qatar and all over the world, studying in Qatar and reunited once more within the Methaf space for this celebratory Event- Exhibition marking 25 years of VCUarts’ creative existence in Qatar.
This Event-Exhibition hosts 39 young creatives, their visionary flair melted together here; their path I had the fortunate to share as the Curator of this project that I very much see as a creative celebration.
The chosen title seeks to assert the great importance of the past in shaping the future; the past of an academic institution as the past of a country its history in shaping its fututre.
In the exhibition the work of different graduates will be presented as being born from the earth/ ground that the School represents, and that has been fertilized by years and years of creative and academic work of both its students, professors, wise and visionary administrators.
Also the themes of the work proposed from the artists/ designers/ creators, bears a strong tie to the past and history of both place and self, projecting new creative horizons, with new technologies and creative methods in envisioning a future of hope and creative excellency in the values that the VCU as an academic institution represents.
The Curatorial Narrative here seeks to present a journey through Land and Sea, inspired by the local fables and traditions of Qatar; the restless poetic movement of its people through the Sand over clear starry skies, their tireless vision in sailing across the Sea in search of its hidden treasures.
I have chosen here to create much more than an instance but instead to stage an experiential curated- series of narratives/ Historiographies inspired by the chosen creative projects and the stories of their creators; this is an event- exhibition that uniquely brings together visionary objects, enchanting art, mesmerizing garments, moving images, immersive designed digital experiences, from across the borders, back here in Qatar, where their creators have been nurtured through their years of study at VCUarts.
These stories that bring us all together here, are not different from the stories of a People moving along the Sand and into the Horizon, narrated when gathered around a fire to keep memory and faith alive. The title I have chosen, this Sand is made of Stars / this Sea is made of Pearls is indeed inspired by such stories and seeks to anchor this curatorial narrative to the local tradition of Al Khor storytelling projected through the works presented into a visionary future Horizon.”
- Dr. Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej, Curator
Video
VCUarts Qatar at a glance
Dr. Cherif Amor in conversation with Mohammad Nabil Suleiman, Associate Professor at the interior design department at VCUarts Qatar
Dr. Cherif Amor in conversation with Chris Fink, Chair of the fashion design department at VCUarts Qatar
Dr. Cherif Amor in conversation with Dr. Aissa Deebi, Director of the painting and printmaking department at VCUarts Qatar
Dr. Cherif Amor in conversation with Basma Hamdy, Associate Professor at the graphic design department at VCUarts Qatar
Dr. Cherif Amor in conversation with Marco Bruno, Associate Professor at the MFA in Design department at VCUarts Qatar
Video
VCUarts Qatar at a glance
Related Topics
25th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition
2023