Alumni, faculty and students from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar), a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner, is participating in ‘Doha Prints’, an exhibition taking place at Studio 7, in Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD).
‘Doha Prints’ brings over 300 prints designed by 115 artists and designers from 12 Arab countries under one roof. The exhibition, the first-of-its-kind in Qatar, runs until November 13.
Entry is free and open daily from 10am to 9pm, Saturday to Thursday, and from 4pm to 9pm on Fridays.
Shima Aeinehdar, Fatima Abbas, Maryam al-Homaid, Kaltham al-Fakhroo, and Latifa al-Sulaiti are the participating VCUarts Qatar designers. Water With Water, popularly known as W/W/W, an experimental publishing project based in Doha and led by VCUarts Qatar faculty member Nathan Ross Davis and alumna Sarah Elawad, is also part of 'Doha Prints'.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Studio 7, and Cairopolitan.
Studio 7 is a design concept store situated on the ground floor of the M7 building in MDD, and Cairopolitan is a product design store and art gallery based in Cairo, Egypt.
The curated collection of prints follows Studio 7's mission to identify, promote and celebrate talented artists from Qatar and the wider Arab world.
Asma Derouiche, a VCUarts Qatar MFA in Design alumna, and Studio 7’s co-founder and creative director, said: “The creative works you see here show how traditional and experimental forces come together to create something original and unusual, breaking stereotypes in the process.”
The prints on display at 'Doha Prints' benefit from the interior design of Studio 7. Unlike other exhibition spaces where artworks are either placed on pedestals or hung on walls, at Studio 7 they’re suspended from the ceiling using traps and sheets hanging from a fixed grid on the wall, allowing visitors to actually ‘walk through’ them.
According to Derouiche, this arrangement ensures the space does not overshadow the artworks themselves. In fact, the only pop of colour comes from the canary yellow cloth partitions and trusses that offset the unpainted, rough-hewn walls and floors.
As Derouiche explained further, “We wanted Studio 7 to be seen as a cool space where the designs on display – not the décor – take centre stage. The informal ambiance and earthy, unpolished tones offer a blank canvas for designers from different backgrounds, nationalities and cultures. Our aim is to make art and design accessible, approachable, and affordable, rather than expensive, intimidating and elitist. We see it as a curated playground where functionality dares to be fun.”
Visitors to 'Doha Prints' can purchase copies of the prints on display, as well as posters, postcards, stickers, and tote bags created by graphic designers from across the Arab world and are part of the exhibition. They can also browse or buy objects from the permanent collection at Studio 7, such as ceramic and clay bowls, bird feeders, handbags, rugs, streetwear, and formal or evening wear.
‘Doha Prints’ brings over 300 prints designed by 115 artists and designers from 12 Arab countries under one roof. The exhibition, the first-of-its-kind in Qatar, runs until November 13.
Entry is free and open daily from 10am to 9pm, Saturday to Thursday, and from 4pm to 9pm on Fridays.
Shima Aeinehdar, Fatima Abbas, Maryam al-Homaid, Kaltham al-Fakhroo, and Latifa al-Sulaiti are the participating VCUarts Qatar designers. Water With Water, popularly known as W/W/W, an experimental publishing project based in Doha and led by VCUarts Qatar faculty member Nathan Ross Davis and alumna Sarah Elawad, is also part of 'Doha Prints'.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Studio 7, and Cairopolitan.
Studio 7 is a design concept store situated on the ground floor of the M7 building in MDD, and Cairopolitan is a product design store and art gallery based in Cairo, Egypt.
The curated collection of prints follows Studio 7's mission to identify, promote and celebrate talented artists from Qatar and the wider Arab world.
Asma Derouiche, a VCUarts Qatar MFA in Design alumna, and Studio 7’s co-founder and creative director, said: “The creative works you see here show how traditional and experimental forces come together to create something original and unusual, breaking stereotypes in the process.”
The prints on display at 'Doha Prints' benefit from the interior design of Studio 7. Unlike other exhibition spaces where artworks are either placed on pedestals or hung on walls, at Studio 7 they’re suspended from the ceiling using traps and sheets hanging from a fixed grid on the wall, allowing visitors to actually ‘walk through’ them.
According to Derouiche, this arrangement ensures the space does not overshadow the artworks themselves. In fact, the only pop of colour comes from the canary yellow cloth partitions and trusses that offset the unpainted, rough-hewn walls and floors.
As Derouiche explained further, “We wanted Studio 7 to be seen as a cool space where the designs on display – not the décor – take centre stage. The informal ambiance and earthy, unpolished tones offer a blank canvas for designers from different backgrounds, nationalities and cultures. Our aim is to make art and design accessible, approachable, and affordable, rather than expensive, intimidating and elitist. We see it as a curated playground where functionality dares to be fun.”
Visitors to 'Doha Prints' can purchase copies of the prints on display, as well as posters, postcards, stickers, and tote bags created by graphic designers from across the Arab world and are part of the exhibition. They can also browse or buy objects from the permanent collection at Studio 7, such as ceramic and clay bowls, bird feeders, handbags, rugs, streetwear, and formal or evening wear.