For those wondering about the role and relevance of design in our shared or individual futures, Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures was a tangible, visual statement that our paths ahead are, indeed, driven by design.
For four days Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) played host to some of the best creative and radical minds in fields as varied as forensic architecture, sustainability, media and communications, critical world-building, computational art, typography, materials’ future, bio-art, art and conflict, and post-petroleum societies, to name a few.
Virtual attendees from the public joined the VCUarts Qatar community to discover, discuss, and learn new – and in some cases even rediscover old pathways, methods, and strategies that elevate the existing creative practice and address escalating material and humanitarian concerns.
Forensic Architecture
An exhibition titled Futurisms, organised by The Gallery at VCUarts Qatar and Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures, curated by renowned design innovator and Afrofuturist Ingrid LaFleur, was part of the conference.
Eyal Weizman from Forensic Architecture based at Goldsmith’s University in the UK delivered the keynote address. Forensic Architecture is a research agency investigating human rights violations including violence committed by states, police forces, militaries, and corporations.
Findings from investigations have been presented in national and international courtrooms, parliamentary inquiries and exhibitions, at some of the world’s leading cultural institutions and in international media, as well as in citizen’s tribunals and community assemblies.
In his address, Weizman talked about how the agency uses cutting-edge techniques in spatial and architectural analysis, open-source investigation, digital modelling, and immersive technologies, as well as documentary research, situated interviews and academic collaboration to carry out investigations with and on behalf of communities and individuals affected by conflict, police brutality, border regimes, and environmental violence.
Radical Futures
Prior to the keynote talk, the Directors of Tasmeem Doha 2022 – Basma W Hamdy, Diane C Derr, PhD, Maysaa Al-Mumin and former VCUarts Qatar faculty member Denielle Emans, PhD – spoke to the audience and shared their thoughts on the theme of the conference from their own perspectives.
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures wasn’t only about the serious or the solemn and the debates and discussions. The masterclasses and workshops were interspersed with performances by artists, jam sessions by VCUarts Qatar-based collective Sonic Jeel, and booths where attendees could try their hand at block-printing on textiles or learning how to trap stray cats.
Attendees who registered for the in-person sessions were presented with colourful lanyards designed exclusively for the conference by Kuwaiti design company, Rapture and with Radical Recipes, a compilation of nostalgia-driven comfort food recipes from contributors from across the globe.
For more information about the event, visit radicalfutures.qatar.vcu.edu.
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