VCUarts Qatar has organised an exhibition “this Sand is made of Stars/this Sea is made of Pearls – Horizon Historiographies”, to mark its 25th-anniversary celebrations.
The exhibition, which opened at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art last week, showcases works created by 39 artists and designers who studied at the VCUarts Qatar.
Three Art History graduates serve as assistant curators for the exhibition, which runs until December 1.
The exhibition consists of a curated range of installations and fine art pieces, from paintings, sculptures and clay artefacts to installations using metal, glass, fabric and digital technology.
The title, and the manner in which the exhibition is laid out in the exhibition space, is inspired by the deep ties the alumni, and through them, the university, has with Qatar.
The exhibition is divided into four sections based on the common themes found among the artworks. The sections are: The Sacred, The Water (Sea), The Land (Sand) and The Self & The Other.
The alumni who have their artworks on display are Amira Mohamed, Ayaz Rauf, Fatima Mohammed, Hazem Asif, Hind al-Saad, Maryam al-Homaid, Nada Abbara, Noora al-Hardan, Sarah Alafifi, Sidra Zubairi, Shaikha al Sulaiti, Aisha al-Sowaidi, Amna Yandarbin, Dana el Ladki, Eman Makki, Habeeb Futtaim, Izza Alyssa, Nia Alexander Campbell, Nour Elbasuni, Wurood Azzam, Majdulin Nasrallah, Dimitri Yuri, Faheem Khan, Hassan al Shehhi, Lauren Morell, Nada Elkharashi, Shouq al-Mana, Yasmeen Suleiman, Reema Abu Hassan, Yousef Bahzad, Bouthayna Al Muftah, Ghada al-Khater, Hadeer Omar, Hana al-Saadi, Hawa Stwodah, Noora al-Saei, Othman Khunji, Reham Mohamed and Dana Riad.
The alumni who serve as curatorial assistants are Teslim Sanni, Sara Mohammed and Anusheh Zaman.
The exhibition is curated by award-winning curator Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej who hails from Cyprus, lives and works in Italy, teaching the MA Curatorial Practice programme at the European Institute of Design.
A museum consultant, she is a member of the International Council of Museums and the only woman elected to the Europa Nostra Industrial and Engineering Heritage Committee, thus far.
Iliadou said, “In my many years of curating major exhibitions across the world, this specific one, organised to celebrate 25 years of the school’s existence in Qatar, has been without doubt the most interesting and exciting of all. Being introduced to the creative journeys of 39 VCUarts Qatar alumni and being assisted by three Art History graduates to curate the artworks was an unforgettable experience; it was wonderful to interact with these gifted and sensitive young talents.”
Exhibition curator, Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej.
