Residents and visitors of Qatar have until July 5 to experience a stunning exhibition by Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) at M7, showcasing innovative and thought-provoking works by emerging artists and designers.

The “Art and Design Now: Year End Show” presents a dynamic vision of the future of art and design, addressing themes such as cultural identity, environmental sustainability, and social awareness.

Highlighting the breadth of VCUarts Qatar’s academic programmes, the exhibition features projects from undergraduate disciplines including Art History, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Painting and Printmaking, and Fashion Design, as well as the Master of Fine Arts in Design programme.

More than 70 graduating students are represented, each contributing to a rich showcase of Qatar’s emerging creative talent.

Their final projects demonstrate a remarkable command of diverse media and cutting-edge techniques.

Students have incorporated elements such as light, sound, video, animation, textile design, silk printing, fabrication technology, typography, coding, digital painting, screen printing, lithography, and photographic processes.

This wide range of approaches results in a compelling display of both technical skill and artistic vision.

The exhibition reflects an extraordinary variety of themes, from vibrant celebrations of Qatari heritage to experimental works addressing sustainability, innovation, and social consciousness.

For the first time, this year’s show includes contributions from Foundation Year students and the newly launched Bachelor of Fine Arts in Kinetic Imaging, with these works displayed in the adjacent lobby.

Bashair Jamal AlKhulaifi’s Nafas offers a surreal, cross-disciplinary installation.

Featuring a steel bed frame draped in fabric, cyanotypes, and oil paint, the work mimics drowning – exploring fluidity, memory, and transformation as metaphors for identity and childhood experience.

In Into Thick Air by Syed Muhammad Erzum proposes an innovative solution to environmental challenges through cultural practice.

Drawing from the Basant kite festival in Lahore, Erzum reimagines kite flying as a collective effort to reduce air pollution.

Using fabric treated with nanoparticle coatings, his project transforms a traditional activity into a community-led environmental intervention.

Fatima Abbas’s Infinite Finite examines ethical human progression through the lens of generative systems.

Her digital tool simulates a century of human development, using wood and rockite tiles to visually distinguish ethical growth from harmful stagnation, inviting reflection on humanity’s role within natural systems.

Crafting Futures by Saga Elkabbash bridges tradition and technology by pairing a master potter with a creatively programmed 3D printer.

The resulting hybrid clay vessels celebrate the value of human craftsmanship while embracing digital innovation – producing outcomes neither could achieve alone.