The camper-bus is slated to be the chief raconteur of a transformational change at
‘Shifting Sands: A Journey of Qatar and its People’ exhibition, writes Umer Nangiana
It is a bus, yet not just a bus. Connecting the past with present through its exterior and interior, it has been aesthetically transformed into an object that tells the story of times gone by. Carrying an air of nostalgia around it, this travel machine can take you on an expressive journey back in time.
In flashbacks, it tells the story of evolution in the desert from 40 to 50 years ago, a transformation of a land of ‘shifting sands’ into a contemporary urban landscape.  
The bus is a “star” in dozens of objects at the upcoming exhibition, ‘Shifting Sands: A Journey of Qatar and its People’ curated by a group of Museum and Gallery Practice MA Students at University College London (UCL) Qatar in partnership with Sheikh Faisal Bin Qasim Al Thani Museum.
While the entire temporary exhibition space in the museum has been adorned with over hundred objects enumerating the story of Qatar through its inhabitants and past possessions, the camper-bus is slated to be the chief raconteur.
“This is a bus like any other bus that you see out on the road street except that the inside has been completely renovated to be a camper bus. From outside, it is really beautifully painted in bright colours to depict scenes of life in the desert,” Maria Arias, MA student and the Project Manager, tells Community about the UCLQurates project by the students that she is leading this year.  
One side is painted with scenes of life in the desert like hunting, cooking and gathering water while on the other, you would see modern cars busy dune bashing.
“In a way, it embodies our concept (of the exhibition). It is an amazing object and almost our top-secret object which is going to be revealed on the (opening) night,” chips in Dr Serena Lervolino, Lecturer in Museology and Curatorial Studies. She, along with her colleagues, including Catharina Hendrick, Lecturer Museum Studies, have helped the students put up the exhibit.  
The star object was discovered when the students first visited the museum, going in without any set theme. It was in the cars collection of the museum that is yet not open to the public. At that point, the students neither had any narrative in mind nor object in hand. Now they have put up more than 90 objects, telling the story of Qatar.
The exhibition talks about personal stories of people living in Qatar and how they have experienced the change in landscape, be it cultural or physical within their personal lives.
Along with objects from the collections of the Sheikh Faisal Museum, the students are using interactive technology featuring videos and interviews, including that of the man himself, to put forward their narrative.
“We are using different objects to suggest change in the growth of the city; how it grew from a desert into this huge urban landscape. We want to take people on this journey inside the gallery going from the desert into the city and back,” says Maria.
“When we interviewed Sheikh Faisal, he took us to his Majlis and gave us boxes of photographs from his personal collection. This gave us an idea of creating two sets of photo walls and other photo installations,” discloses the project leader.
At the exhibition, you will see a photo wall depicting a change in physical landscape of Doha from 1950s to now. On the other hand, you will see interviews of people talking about the objects they use in their lives and how it relates to the landscape in Doha.
There is another photo wall featuring albums contributed by the community members from their personal collections.
“These photos are the recap of the community engagement project. We wanted the members of the community to take part in the process of the exhibition making. We wanted their perspective of how Qatar has evolved,” says Dr Serena.
They received more than 200 pictures from 21 amateur and professional photographers, against low initial expectations. It was a way to embed a human perspective on the topic, also giving space to the people to present their own perspective on the subject.
Dr Serana says the exhibition is one component of the long assessment process of the students’ work. At the end of it, they would get marks individually and collectively. The faculty is there to support them but largely lets them do it on their own.
“The structure of the programme reflects the real composition of more or less an ideal exhibition in a real museum. This is an opportunity for them to experience the role of real museum professionals,
supported by both academics and museum professionals,” says the professor.
Talking about the process of curating and what relates strongly with the audiences, Catharina Hendrick says people engage with exhibitions in different ways.
“Here in Qatar, for example, people like the idea of story-telling. They like the idea of engaging in stories and oral histories. We wanted to try to think about how we could use technologies in a new way to think about engaging an audience that may not just want to read text panels,” says Hendrick.
They are using a lot of different approaches, she says, that are way apart from traditional approaches that people often find boring.
They have a ‘sensory space’ where people can engage with the tactile engagement. Then, there is a space with spices in it to trigger memories related to the sense of smell.
“And I think community engagement is something that we should try to encourage in any kind of exhibition regardless of where in the world you are and what kind of collection it is,” says Hendrick.
With their exhibition, students target the local audience. First and foremost are the local Qatari families and then, long-term expats living here for more than 5 years —besides tourists visiting the museum.
Maria says working with a very diverse group of people coming from different nationalities and managing them was the biggest take away for her in the experience.
“While it has been a challenge, it has been a nice challenge because you get to work with people who are very creative, have different strengths and backgrounds,” she explains. For instance, in their design team, a dream team, they had an architect and a designer. “And I don’t think in any museum you get this team to help you in an exhibition,” Maria smiles.
The exhibition has a VIP opening on April 6 and will be open for public the next day at Sheikh Faisal Museum.



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