Mathaf and VCUarts Qatar Launch Fanoon, a New Public Lecture Series and University Seminar

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar), presents Fanoon (Arabic for ‘arts’), a new public lecture series and university seminar bringing internationally renowned artists into dialogue with audiences and students in Doha.

The series features four distinct research-led practices: Rayyane Tabet's work with archives and the built environment; Bahar Noorizadeh's exploration of digital and financial infrastructures; Shuddhabrata Sengupta's practice of collective knowledge production with Raqs Media Collective; and Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti's decolonial spatial practice with Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR). The public lecture series is presented in partnership with Qatar Creates Talks, expanding opportunities for audiences in Doha to engage with international artists, ideas and contemporary creative practice.

The new series builds on the legacy of VCUarts Qatar’s original Fanoon Center for Printmedia Research, established in 2012 as the first print-publishing program of its kind in the Middle East. Through collaborations with leading regional and international artists, the center created an important body of work while giving students direct experience in artistic production and exchange. The new Fanoon carries that spirit forward, expanding it through public lectures and university seminars.

Conceived as an experiment in exploring new approaches to learning and knowledge-sharing, Fanoon inaugurates a new collaboration between a museum and an arts university. The initiative connects Mathaf with the Painting and Printmaking programme (Department of Fine Arts) at VCUarts Qatar, creating a space for ongoing dialogue around contemporary artistic practice and proposing a forward-looking model for arts education.

Each participating artist will deliver a public lecture at Mathaf’s Makan Auditorium. The lectures are free and open to all, offering audiences a unique opportunity to engage with the artists’ research, methodologies and wider fields of inquiry.

The public programme is accompanied by a university seminar led by writer and curator Tirdad Zolghadr, Curator of Academic Outreach at Mathaf. Open to students across Education City, the seminar will enable participants to examine the ideas presented during the lectures through continued discussion and study.

Public Lecture Programme Schedule.

All lectures will begin at 3 pm at Mathaf’s Makan Auditorium.

• 8 September: Rayyane Tabet on archives and the built environment
• 29 September: Bahar Noorizadeh on digital and financial infrastructures
• 27 October: Shuddhabrata Sengupta of Raqs Media Collective on collective knowledge production
• 17 November: Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti of Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR) on decolonial spatial practice

To register, please visit https://mathaf.org.qa/en/calendar/fanoon-artist-talks/

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