A striking portfolio that showcases the range and strength of your talent and pushes all the right buttons can make all the difference when gunning for admissions. Rolling out its Portfolio Development Class, Fall 2016, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCU-Q) shows you just how to “get an edge on your portfolio” by bringing out five non-credit portfolio development classes designed to help high-school students acquire the skills necessary to prepare admissions portfolios.
“The admissions portfolio requirements of VCU-Q emphasise creative thinking and development as being of equal importance to drawing skills,” VCU-Q says, in a note on its Portfolio Development Class that present you with five choices – A, B, C, D and E. “This course will teach the necessary skills to build a competitive portfolio. Students will have time for practice and personal feedback, while developing an understanding of the vigour and value of an arts/design education at VCU-Q.”
You can either register online or visit VCU-Q for in-person registration from September 19 onwards, from 9am to noon and 1pm to 4pm (Sunday to Thursday). Registration for the fall classes closes October 1, but as seats are limited and classes sell out early, we recommend you sign up as soon as possible.
The outline for each of the Portfolio Development Class features Week 1: Introduction to course, teacher, and VCU-Q; Introduction to composition; Introduction to sketch booking. Week 2: Observational drawing/Line. Week 3: Introduction to colour. Week 4: Introduction to basic value drawing. Week 5: Advanced value drawing. Week 6: Creative thinking: Sketchbook and communicating ideas. Week 7: Using a camera to document ideas and your work, and Week 8: Final review – preparing your portfolio.
For Class A and B, the programme starts on October 10 and ends on November 29, and features 16 lessons. The classes will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays (Class A from 4pm to 6pm; Class B from 6pm to 8pm). Whereas, Class C starts on October 12 and ends on November 30, features eight lessons, and will be held on Wednesdays. The cost is QR1,350 for each of the courses and they will be held at VCU-Q, Room 390.
The instructor for these three classes is Ryan Browning, assistant professor of fine arts in the Art and Design Foundation department at VCU-Q. A multidisciplinary artist focused in painting and drawing media, with the occasional venture into electronic and digital media projects, Browning’s work is represented by ADA Gallery in Richmond Virginia, USA, and Mulherin + Pollard Gallery in NYC, USA, and he has exhibited at numerous galleries and institutions throughout the US.
As for Class D, which begins on October 12 and ends on November 30, features eight lessons, and will be held on Wednesdays, the instructor is Hadeer Omar, a visual communicator, independent filmmaker and an entrepreneur with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and Masters of Fine Art in Design studies from VCU-Q. Her thesis is questioning globalisation as an action and culture hacking as a reaction in a specific context, and she is the founder of an online studio called Kroki design studio. 
Class E, which begins on October 23 and ends on December 11, features eight lesson that will be held on Sundays, will have Ben Barbour as the instructor. Barbour is the curator at the Msheireb Arts Centre (MAC), and a practising and exhibiting artist. He recently travelled on a Q-Flex LNG tanker from Qatar to the UK documenting the trip through a series of drawings as part of the QatarUK 2013 Year of Culture.
Participants must buy their own materials and VCU-Q has enlisted the items that need to be bought for the class, once the participant has been sent the final course confirmation by VCU-Q.  For every class, participants must bring scissors, glue stick, eraser, pencil sharpener, black Pilot pen (fine liner), and a set of coloured pencils (at least 20 different colours). 
“On occasions, there may be some more materials to be bought and brought in if and when advised by the instructor,” VCU-Q points out in a note on the materials needed. VCU-Q will provide materials such as drawing paper A3 – 5 sheets, sketchbook A4, 2B/4B/6B pencils, charcoal and kneadable eraser to the students.