Alumni from VCUarts Qatar and NTU Singapore Participate in Shared Exhibition

“AfterWords”, an exchange featuring the creative works of graphic design alumni from VCUarts Qatar and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, is currently taking place simultaneously at both universities. The displays will run until November 1, 2022.

The exhibition taking place at VCUarts Qatar features works by young designers from NTU, while the one in Singapore exhibits designs by VCUarts Qatar alumni. Both exhibitions are free of charge, and open to the public in their respective cities.

Roudah Alsheeb, Mashael Al Baker, Naima Almajdobah, Noof Alkhenji, and Sara AlHelal are the VCUarts Qatar alumni who have their posters displayed at NTU. Designs by Ayesha Jumari, Celia Yew, Chew Ziling, Sylvia Low, Wee Yen, Lee Qiu Wen and Whitney Ng from NTU can be viewed at VCUarts Qatar.

The opening of the exhibition at VCUarts Qatar was attended by the Ambassador of Singapore to Qatar, His Excellency Jai S. Sohan.

Fae Siddiqui, a Graphic Design student at VCUarts Qatar, and curator of ‘AfterWords’, explained the concept of the exhibition, and the designs, to the Ambassador.

Participating NTU alumni and organizers joined their counterparts in Doha, via Zoom, for the opening, and to describe their respective exhibits.

According to the organizers of ‘AfterWords’, the works highlighted in this exchange exhibition “open the door to dialogue and inclusion and celebrate the power of design as a tool for international knowledge sharing”.

Explaining the idea behind the exhibition and the significance of such opportunities to VCUarts Qatar students and alumni, further, Siddiqui said, “Learning at VCUarts Qatar is community-centered, and this exhibition opens the door to students and alumni to gain an understanding of how other cultures use design to express their perspectives on social phenomena. For instance, an appreciation of the nuances that influence societal behavior in Southeast Asia or the use of Mandarin typography in design, is fairly new to our community at VCUarts Qatar. At the same time, it’s wonderful to see how creatives in Doha and Singapore – two cities that are home to different nationalities from all over the world – share so much in common in terms of harnessing the power of design for the conservation of culture and heritage.”

Fae Siddiqui worked with Law Alsobrook, Associate Professor, and Astrid Kensinger, Chair, from the department of Graphic Design at VCUarts Qatar, and with Desmond Pang and Oh Soon-Hwa from NTU, to organize this exhibition.