German designers ‘The Constitute’ took part in the two-day Tasmeem Doha 2017, which concluded yesterday at the Virginia Commonwealth University – Qatar (VCU-Q), the German embassy has said.
Organised by the VCU and VCU-Q’s School of the Arts, the renowned design biennale and conference forms part of the Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture, focusing on “Analogue Living in a Digital World.”
“When we talked with VCU-Q about joint projects during Qatar Germany 2017, we agreed that we wanted to contribute to Tasmeem,” Dr Gabriele Landwehr, general manager of the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, said.
“With The Constitute, we brought innovative and inspiring designers from Berlin to this year’s Tasmeem to engage with the vivid and promising design scene and industry in Qatar,” Dr Landwehr noted. “This could establish a co-operation with the VCU and with Qatari designers also beyond 2017.”
The Constitute is a Berlin design and research studio run by Christian Zöllner and Sebastian Piatza. By combining artistic and scientific practices they create interactive experiences for the public space. 
Founded in early 2012, arising from the urban media art collective, The Constitute worked with several international cultural institutions and exhibited their works worldwide. 
The design experimentalists presented three activities at Tasmeem – one experimental workshop and two interactive and participative art experiences.
The Constitute gave a 3D printing workshop where they printed 3D printer vessels, jars and other objects that have been scanned and reworked with the software Blender. 
Instead of regular plastic materials, they used porcelain for the printing of the reinterpreted objects. With Eyesect, they presented a wearable interactive constellation that reflects an out-of-body in immersive ways. 
In the evening hours of the closing night, The Constitute installed the SMSlingshot in VCU-Q Courtyard. With the SMSlingshot, text messages can be typed on an integrated phone-sized wooden keypad. 
When the message is entered, the user can target a facade and shoot the message straight to the target point. 
Participants could choose their preferred language setting: Arabic or English. The result was a colourful wall with posts, comments, or humour. All events were free and open to the public.
Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture is a year-long programme designed to deepen understanding between nations through the mutual exchange of arts, culture, heritage and sport.