Qatar Museums (QM) is organising what it described as “a playful workshop” online with visual literacy advocate Charlene Kasdorf on May 1, giving families and children an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate art amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) situation.
Since all museums and heritage sites, exhibitions, food & beverage outlets, and playgrounds within QM have remained closed (until further notice) to prevent the spread of Covid-19, QM is allowing netizens to see and explore museum collections via virtual visits, as well as engage in a number of workshops and activities during the holy month of Ramadan.
Kasdorf, who has illustrated picture books for museums, universities, and publishing houses, in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Qatar, will be leading the workshop, which aims to “develop and practice illustration techniques into creating your own characters through fast-paced observation activities and photo references.”
The workshop, schedule from 3pm to 5pm via Zoom, will require participants (16 years and above) to use drawing tools from home, including 2B and 6B pencils, coloured pencils, a Uniball pen, paper or sketchbook, and a photo of a person (or choosing a character image from the session).
The Qatar Children’s Museum (QCM) also held a virtual Garangao workshop recently (April 24) to mark Ramadan 2021, teaching families the traditional weaving method used to create traditional baskets for the Garangao night.
“Just like our parents and their parents before, we are using palm tree leaves and will weave them into keychains or bookmarks,” QM said.“Celebrating Ramadan is slightly different from country to country.
Whilst we all share some common traditions, we all have our own traditions that makes it distinctive.”
The Qatar Children’s Museum also posted a recent video of Dr Khalifa al-Sayed al-Malki, a renowned Qatari folklore scholar, playwright, and author of the book ‘Traditional Games in Qatar’, who takes netizens on “a journey to explore Ramadan through its songs, games and rituals.”
“Ramadan is a wonderful instigator to learn more about our traditions and feel closer to our culture. All of us here in the Children’s Museum, even as adults, are constantly learning about the culture and traditions of our country,” QCM said.
Qatar Museums continues to provide virtual tours to the different museum galleries such as the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) via the Google Arts & Culture. “‏It is our pleasure to welcome many nationalities to MIA every year.
Although the museum is currently closed we are still available online,” added QM, suggesting to watch a video about the museum and its collection. Users can choose between Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Chinese and Farsi.
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