Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar - VCUQ, Doha - Gallery news: VCUQatar´s MFA clas kicks off!

VCUQatar´s MFA clas kicks off! (1.9.2009)

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar First Campus in Education City to Offer Master of Fine Arts Degree.

Doha, Qatar - Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar's inaugural Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies classes began last week after a day of orientation. The four students in this class come from Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon.

The MFA in Design Studies is the first graduate program in Qatar's Education City and the first in design in the Gulf Region. The program acknowledges that design is a professional discipline that is broadly based and highly collaborative, incorporating the transfer of knowledge across traditional domains to create products and processes of manufacture, environments, forms of communication and the organization of information.

"We are proud of our special place in the history of the Qatar Foundation as the first university in Education City in 1998 and now as the first university in Education City to offer a Master's degree program" said Dean Allyson Vanstone. "It is a true honor and a great responsibility. Our Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies is also the first MFA in the Gulf region. Our inaugural class will demonstrate the importance of design research within a growing economy and developing society. We look forward to developing innovative project collaborations with many partners in Qatar and throughout the region," she added.

The MFA students Alia Mohamed Khairat from Egypt, Amin Nabil Matni from Lebanon, Dana Seros Rohani and Shaikha Mahmoud Al-Mahmoud from Qatar expressed their joy at being the first MFA batch from VCUQatar.

"The application process seemed daunting at first when I looked online, but the Admissions team at VCUQatar were more than amazing. I still cannot believe that I was chosen," said Ms Khairat who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in book illustration and cartoon animation from Helwan University, Egypt. She currently works in student affairs at the Academic Bridge Program, but as a designer and artist she has illustrated books and produced fashion pieces for the fashion conscious veiled women.

"From this MFA, I hope to gain more insight and experience in design, in terms of theory, research and application and be able to carry that into fashion design and illustration. I have a lot of aspirations; I would like to resume fashion design to develop a line that incorporates Arab and Islamic culture and tradition with modern trends, materials and techniques thus bringing together these seemingly different worlds, I would also like to work with Bloomsbury- Qatar Foundation at some point to maybe illustrate more children's books, and finally I would like to be able to pass forward my experience and what I have learnt and to teach students at VCU," said Ms Khairat.

"The environment that we live in is full of raw ideas to interpret and study," believes Mr. Matni who has been an adjunct professor at VCUQatar's Graphic Design department for two years. The relationship between evolution/modernity and traditions, cultural dynamics in progressive society, music, art, painting and reading are all sources of inspiration for Amin who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design from Notre Dame University, Lebanon. "We just need to observe/read carefully these signs, dissect the flow of information and interpret them to give them meaning and visual representation in the design realm", he said, hoping this is what the MFA would equip him to do.

Mr. Matni runs his own design studio in Doha and in the past ran his own studio in Lebanon, worked with Future TV's animation department and also taught graphic design part time at Matn University. He has lectured about design in Germany, Bahrain, Lebanon and Qatar. "I was thrilled to hear the good news," he said of his acceptance. "I had waited for a long time to enroll in a program that could match my work/teaching pace. It is a long road, 3 years of MFA puts your patience and perseverance to the test but I feel privileged, enthusiastic, challenged and extremely hopeful, he added."

"I feel honored to be in the first batch and I am very sure everyone has high expectations from us. I am expecting a lot from myself too and I am sure I can achieve it and come out of it with the best results," said Ms Rohani a VCUQatar alumna who graduated in 2006 with a BFA in interior design. She then took a design position at VCUQatar's Center for Research in Design for one year before moving over to the VCUQatar Facilities department. She also engages in freelance work.

"My long-term goal is to be in an academic environment where I can teach as faculty member and be involved in research in the area of design," said Ms Rohani of her objectives. "I also would like to broaden my knowledge in design, not just in interiors, and this is an excellent opportunity to think out of the box and experience thoughts, ideas and creativities that I wasn't exposed to before. In the MFA program we have students and faculty from different design backgrounds and different work experiences, which is very exciting," she added.

Shaikha Mahmoud Al Mahmoud was one of the first 36 students to join VCUQatar and one of Education City's pioneering students in 1998. She is a pioneer once again, in the first Master's program to be offered in Education City. She graduated from the Interior Design department in 2002 and now works for the Facilities Department of the Qatar Foundation on the interior design of the many buildings being born around us. She is known to have handled up to 20 design projects simultaneously.

"Participating in Qatar Foundation projects has helped me see interior design as a direct reflection of a place's particular culture. I have enjoyed observing the social patterns and conditions that influence architectural and interior design in all the cities I have visited, and have concluded that it is essential to create an architectural identity for Doha that characterizes its vision and mission as a developing city embracing modern life without turning its back to its ancestors' heritage. Being active in realizing this mission has become an objective of mine, as I focused my efforts on creating spaces especially for people with special needs and elderly, as well as environmentally friendly buildings that show the modernized Qatari and Islamic heritage. Acquiring an advanced knowledge of design thinking, researching and implementation methods will contribute enormously to my ability to develop and improve current design concepts and practice in Qatar Foundation and in Doha," said Ms Al-Mahmoud.

Also driving her objective of graduate study is her passion for in-depth research and exploration of all the issues she has witnessed, especially design theories that are not well-studied or implemented in the region. "In particular, social and cultural design-related patterns have become the most central concepts to my professional and personal interests. VCUQatar's MFA program offers the perfect opportunity to expand my knowledge of this field. I am especially excited by VCUQatar's individualized research program, which concentrates on addressing design on a strategic level," she said.

"I hope to see a Qatar that is better designed in terms of harmony with nature and the environment. I also hope such design takes into consideration the requirements of those in greatest need of assistance. I look forward to a long and productive professional life as an integral part of Qatar's architectural development, while contributing to the realization of these goals. At VCUQatar and in my future career, I intend to satisfy my passions for design, knowledge, research and human welfare," she added.

"Our inaugural group of students brings a diverse range of experience and skills and are highly motivated to contribute to innovation, education, and leadership in design thinking and making in the global community," concluded Matt Woolman, Interim Director of Graduate Studies.

About Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar:
Established in the US in 1838 and in Qatar in 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University offers students from all over the world the opportunity to earn Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fashion, graphic, interior design and painting & printmaking and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design studies. A team of highly skilled professors provide rigorous curricula that prepare students to assume leadership roles in the professional design field of their choice. VCUQatar regularly organizes and hosts exhibitions, gallery events, world-class conferences and holds an annual fashion show. VCUQatar is supported and funded by the Qatar Foundation. For more information please visit www.qatar.vcu.edu

About Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development
Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation is a private, non-profit organization committed to the principle that a nation's greatest natural resource is its people. The headquarters of Qatar Foundation are located within its flagship project, Education City, a fourteen million square-meter campus which hosts numerous progressive learning institutions and centers of research, including branch campuses of six of the world's leading universities, plus a cutting-edge research and development center. Qatar Foundation also works to enhance the quality of life in Qatar by investing in community health and development.
For more information please visit: http://www.qf.org.qa

Image:
(Left to Right): Alia Khairat, Dana Rohani and Amin Matni (not in the picture Shaikha Al-Mahmoud)