EVENTS ARCHIVE

Day 1 (2 April)

Contributor: Fatima Cassim

As an avid fan of South African fashion, I was delighted to be asked to write my first fashion reportage on the 13th annual SSAFW Summer 09/10 collections. Since its inception, SSAFW has become South Africa’s most visible forum showcasing the country’s top and emerging fashion designers. Bearing this in mind, I was certainly not disappointed by either the venue or the shows which I attended. To begin with, Turbine Hall is an interesting and very appropriate choice of venue. In contrast to others, such as the Sandton Convention Centre where previous Fashion Weeks have been held, Turbine Hall’s industrial architecture with its raw and almost gritty interior, as well as the split-levels, provided an interesting dimension to the ambience of the shows, often enhancing or juxtaposing collections in a positive manner.

Once seated in the main hall, the evening’s programme kicked off with a show by two well-established labels, Amanda Laird Cherry and Lunar. Amanda Laird Cherry’s collection was characterised by a strong reference to the idea of wrapping. By her own admission, Amanda Laird Cherry stated that the collection stemmed from her native KwaZulu Natal and the different ways in which people wrap fabric around their bodies. Apart from the clothing, an interesting reference to African rites of passage and ceremonies in the show were the handcrafted ethnic necklaces worn by the models. In light of her influence, it was refreshing to see the use of a monochromatic palette. Overall, the multi-textured layerings on offer were presented in simple and asymmetrical silhouettes which echoed a strong tribal influence.

Like Amanda Laird Cherry, the Lunar label adopted a neutral palette of predominantly white and grey. Formal pieces such as jackets and vests were detailed with visible stitching, thus rendering them as natural and ‘farm-like work wear’. This ‘farm-like’ reference was also evident in a pair of johphur pants and sling bags accessorising the models on the ramp. Furthermore, the choice of fabrics such as linen gauze, silk, and cotton were also in keeping with the natural and earthy underpinnings of the collection. Designer Karen Ter Morshuizen’s latest offering for Lunar did not live up to my personal expectations based on some of Lunar’s previous collections which I have admired for its innovation and bold statements. Nonetheless, the label’s sensitivity and concern for environmental issues remains admirable.

For the second show of the evening, the catwalk was shared by the lingerie label Ruby by Robyn Lidsky and the label, Two by sister-duo, Caren and Gina Waldman. Both collections injected some colour onto the catwalk, in contrast to the other shows on the day. Despite their respective fashion lines, it was interesting to note a striking similarity between the two labels. Both Ruby and Two had a strong ‘floral’ presence in their collections. According to Robyn Lidsky, she was inspired by seeing the Nothern Cape’s Namaqualand in bloom in September 2008. Unlike Ruby, the floral presence in Two’s collection did not echo a South African influence but rather an Eastern influence. Two’s collection had strong Eastern references to floral prints – kimono style dresses and obi belts. In addition, floral embroidery and feminine accessories such as brooches also characterised the sister’s collection. With regards to the fashion shows, I often found myself asking the question “can I picture myself wearing that?” and for the Two collection I found myself saying yes a number of times. Despite the lack of offering something completely new in terms of silhouette or style, I found the Two collection to be quite favourable considering the positioning of the brand and the widespread accessibility of their clothing in the South African market.

Considering that I was wearing very high heels, in between shows I was lucky enough to rest my feet in the VIP lounge. These breaks proved to be almost as exciting as the SSAFW shows themselves as it was intriguing and even more inspiring to see the attendees clad in a range of different and personal styles. Despite seeing photographers clicking away at the shows, I think that South Africa should have its very own Scott Schuman (the photographer who has an influential blog on style.com doing the rounds at such an event. A ‘street style’ blog on the Sanlam Fashion Week website would be most welcome! Another personal highlight of the evening was getting to meet the South African-born, New York-based Albertus Swanepoel, who is currently taking the fashion world by storm as the leading light in making hats the en vogue accessory.

The last show for the evening was by Abigail Betz. In true Betz style, she presented a collection that epitomises beauty, femininity and romance. Her collection of dresses, whether short or long, followed the same simple yet commanding lines. A characteristic feature of her Spring/Summer 09 collection was the introduction of crochet, embroidery and beading. In the Thought pattern brochure which was made available to the attending press, Abigail boldy states: “Screw the Recession”. Although this statement made reference to the volume and choice of fabric and intricate details such as the embroidery and beading, by not sharing the ramp with another designer, Abigail cements her attitude towards screwing the recession. Perhaps this attitude is made possible by her new flagship store in Rosebank and her evergrowing customer base.

The above mentioned shows were certainly a good articulation of contemporary South Africa fashion. I feel that South African fashion is at a stage where it needs greater innovation to generate business opportunities both within South Africa and globally, but nonetheless I have a feeling that SSAFW is headed in the right direction. In conclusion, the experience which I had, will be sure to keep me going back for more. After all, isn’t ‘more’ the operative word of a ‘fashion focused female’?

Day 2 (3 April)

Contributor: Karuna Pillay

Day 2 of SSAFW brought its own highlights and challenges. Not only from the length of the shows but also the offering from some of the designers. On the plus side was the breaks offered in the VIP room, where the previous collections critique could be heard flying in every direction or being ‘loudly whispered’ in a friend’s ear – some good, some bad and some so indifferent.

Tido by Tando Zamxaka does not indicated what his inspiration for this collection was in any of the press material released. I wondered why? In his collection on display, there are elements that show a ‘street smartness’ in some aspects, and yet some parts of the collection were just ‘unfortunate’ regarding embellishment. I do not know if this collection made me want to sit up and take notice or just bury my head in the sand for the obvious mishaps. The collection, or rather its lack of a central sense of concept or message, left me feeling ambiguous. It is unfortunate because Thando Zamxaka has obvious talent but this collection lacked focus and maturity.

Sexy, sassy, sophisticated ensembles presented by Lebo Mash epitomised a sultry and seductive tailored temptress who is young at heart. Her pleated and sometimes, loose fitting garments, were relaxed yet beautifully styled. The old was given a breath of fresh air, as she took tried and tested silhouettes and applied them to great fabric choices – definitely doing the female species naughty but nice attitude a world of good.

The idea of wearing your interior design draping accessories is quite novel in this economic downturn but most definitely not something we should be advocating. It has to be said that costumes have their place and that is on a theatre stage. When we talk everyday wear they are not exuberant nor do they imply confidence and energy. Yes, it is true they are colourful, in a bad way. This collection did not work for me from a finished garment point of view (interior drapery finishes appropriated for high fashion – wrong, wrong, wrong!) but for RjKay Creations I give u 100% for repurposing.

Diamond Face Couture’s inspiration is said to be captured by the words elegant, spring, satin, flowing, vivid florals and bright colours, a tried and tested recipe. Dare I say that the result was bright and bold as the worst of 80’s ensembles ... nothing new and nothing so old that you would not want to be seen dead in. I disliked this collection to the extent that I would refrain from making further comments.

Tiaan Nagel, ... it did not work for me as the cuts were most unflattering or was it simply to thin models wearing the outfits? A saving grace was the colour palate. On the whole, most definitely a no in my books for this one.

Superella by Ella Buter’s every day inspiration brought a breath of fresh air to the catwalk because of its unpretentiousness. Almost 99.99% if not all present applauded this spirited lone voice of simplicity. The layering concept was again evident and probably the only copy cat idea of the high-end stuff. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder summarised this collection and to me it was beautifully simple and so damn wearable. I am sure every woman at the showing recognised something from the dark recesses of their closets that was now back in fashion.

A much needed injection into the world of South African men’s fashion addressing necessary evils of style, fabric choice, creativity, cut and wear-ability. Ephymol inspiration of ‘wear your luxury’ showcases the stylishness, creativity and pure evidence of richness in men’s grooming. I for one will be wearing a number of their offerings.

Clive Rundle’s 09/10-summer collection was the epitome of style and elegance and surely the highlight of SSAFW. I do not know so much about capturing his inspiration of ‘simple-mess’. The documentary themed runway show captured the imagination and was certainly a lesson in presentation. The collection was immaculately constructed however questions as to its wearability arise. The clothes were simply beautiful on a size zero model; I wonder how they would look on the bigger boned women on the street. In essence South African Haute Couture with a creative use of fabric and layering bordering on fashion art. I do not know what appealed to me more the presentation of the line or the fact that the day was over.

Day 3 (4 April)

Contributor: Anri Theron

Day three of Sanlam South African Fashion Week opened with the ELLE New Talent Runner-ups and Winner. Holistically the collections were creative and showed great potential in the up and coming designers. They will definitely create a much needed stir in the SA Fashion industry. Having said that, all the collections seemed to fall short in their cleverness. The relationship between creativity and intelligent thought, in my opinion, is what transforms the average and good into the great, exquisite and profound. But then we all have to start somewhere.

Layers of sheer, printed and colour fabrics with occasional straight lines and bold prints, this collection as described by designer Marize Malan sought to create a playful ‘citrus rush’. Garments were well fitted and wearable fulfilling a variety of tastes with styles that make use of straight, clean lines to others which experimented with flowing movement and shapes. Pleats added detail and fit to the garments. Fabric choice at times seemed more edgy and streetwise than the actual design of the clothes. Regardless, there is bound to be something in this collection that will catch your eye and make its way into your closet.

The second collection by designer Khumo Moshimane, takes a retrospective look at her life being born and growing up in the 80s. There is a distinct 80’s feel that comes across in the design, fabric choice and colour of the garments, but a kaleidoscope of possibilities within this style is explored. In some outfits there is muted use of colour in which the cut and design reflect the 80’s style. Other combinations show a bolder use of typically 80s ‘out of the tube colours’ and elements such as ski pants but are offset with an asymmetrically cut jacket. The collection overall is wearable, bold, fun and playful.

Tanya Demby presented a collection that was definitely out of the ordinary and maybe even a little out of place. Initial thoughts wandered to a space meets 80s vibe that was hard to swallow. Yes it was experimental, even a bit creative but seemed more suited for the theatre stage than the catwalk. According to Demby the inspiration for the collection came from biblical references such as the breastplate worn by Israelite high priests. The simple design of the garments framed translucent silhouettes placing most (if not all) the focus on the geometric, pop art (ish) jewellery worn by the models. There was, in my opinion, little integration between the clothing and the jewellery. Beauty really does reside in the eye of the beholder...I however, wouldn’t give this collection a second look.

The ELLE New Talent winner of 2008, Anisa Mapungwe, presented a collection that fused several styles showing a bold and creative stance on fashion. Seeking to capture what she termed “the drive-thru generation” and “our world today”, Mapungwe drew inspiration from pop art, massive consumption, the Transformers and Lily Allen. Interesting fabric combinations and ‘commercial’ tribal prints were presented in bright colours and A-line silhouettes. In three words: creative but un-flattering. The garments would indeed fit any woman but only because any woman would fit underneath them.

A neutral palette with designs that captured a fun, light hearted take on dress was what defined Robyn De Klerk’s collection. In her own words the designs combine structure with spontaneity, focusing on comfort and ready to wear garments that take SA’s climactic elements into account. The organic shaped silhouettes are well thought out and are enhanced by subtle, well-crafted detail. Overall a very versatile collection and very wearable but there may be room for a bolder and more adventurous side to the designs.

Show 2 of the day featured the Mantsho, House of Olé and Guillotine collections.

Palesa Mokubung designing under her label, Mantsho, presented a collection that paraded African vintage with a glamourous and luxurious edge to it. Her brand, Mantsho, means ‘brutally Black’ in Sesotho and her designs capture the meaning of this in every way. The collection was uniquely South African but could be envisaged as being worn by any woman from any part of the world. The shapes are bold, creative and create striking bell shaped silhouettes. In a brave step, she took on the challenge of designing all the outfits using the same fabric and succeeded beautifully. Each garment is unique and if anything, would only have women in a quandary unable to decide which to choose. The inspiration for this collection according to Mokubung, came from music, space, spirituality, humanity, figures and love for oneself. Wearing any of the designs would definitely give any woman a sense of confidence unmatched.

House of Olé, one of the many men’s collections showcased at SSAFW, combined metrosexual chic with an afro/eastern influence. Combinations would be the operative word in this collection – and lots of it. Designer, Ole Ledimo, combined fabrics, cuts and styles with distinct creative flair juxtaposing gloss and matte, old and new, African and eastern. Pieces range from the more quirky, to the ready to wear, casual and comfortable. The collection shows a great deal of creative experimentation and with all experimentation just sometimes not working in complete harmony. Combining old cuts/styles with new trends created edgy menswear in some designs, but seemed hap-hazard in others. Overall we are undecided – a collection that can go both ways depending on how you view it.

Urban with an English country vibe – if such a thing ever existed – is what portrays Lisa Jaffes’ collection of her label Guillotine. The designs were stylish and sophisticated with a funky edge to them. She describes her inspiration as searching for the grey area, the hidden and in between reflecting a mood that is elusive, border-less and difficult to define. Greys in all shades, matte and gloss were tailored into garments that showed an eye for detail in carefully crafted pleats and folding details. Hints of vibrant colours were subtly incorporated, providing a safe balance. The print motifs ere emphasised as elements used to highlight individual and tribal identity mimicking fingerprint/signature shapes. Although the collection as a whole may not seem particularly daring or novel, we felt that the allure of it lies in that the designs serve to absorb and reflect the individual character of the wearer, enhancing it versus adding to it. You can be who you are in these clothes al the while looking fabulous.

A neutral overdose. Colleen Eitzen describes her designs in this collection as the “simple solution” with a vision of highly wearable, striking pieces in a neutral palette. And indeed, the pieces were flexible and versatile with a modern and organic feel. Draped pieces were well constructed and created unique shapes and silhouettes in many of the designs. Peaceful and tranquil and yet dreary in its representation of the corporate jungle.

Although this collection’s inspiration came from the naive and understated clothing of the Amish and traditional rural Jewish communities and could be construed as ‘unexciting’ it is one that is not to be missed. Anna-Mari Pretorius designing under the label, Soda, succeeded in extracting a pure adult innocence from these design styles and created something beautifully intricate. The unique combination of styles lends itself to an urban chic that fuses seemingly contradicting values. Crafting detail, such as embroidery, by crafters from KZN, is introduced onto the fabric providing a natural touch and is offset with sophisticated lines in the cut. There is something to fall in love with in this collection.

Show 4 (4 April)

Contributor: Karuna Pillay

De Mil: The South African passion for being in the ourdoors was poorly equated to the ‘Howdy Cowboy’ look of this collection. All I can say is Eish!, you far from home! The presentation and styling was too costumey and at times way to haphazard for my liking.

Earthquake: Casual, bright, fun with an injection of colour into the otherwise drab men’s ware palette. A good combination of street and smart wear. The only concern for me was the cut of some of the shorts’ pointy pockets which were simply not flattering.

Narain Samy: This collection is a lesson in good tailoring and well-constructed and ageless garments. It seems like the 4th generation tailor were paying attention in their legacy lessons. Sophisticated with a distinct African flair reminiscing of the hayday of Sophia Town comes to light. This is a very wearable collection by almost any man on the street who seeks to be noticed.

Thunderstorm by Thabo: There really is not much to say about Thunderstorm’s collection. It was creative and quirky, well-cut and neatly constructed but that about it. Nothing caught my attention or made me sit up and take note and that goes for the bad stuff in the collection as well.

Show 5 (4 April)

Contributor: Anri Theron

Story’s collection, created by designer Sanche Frolich, presented designs that were versatile, wearable, creating a multilayered yet simple look in silhouettes. Frolich describes the collection as conveying a modern mix of feminine boldness, “taking a dance journey into luxury with tribal inspired minimalist, clustered embellishments and intricate fringing and ruffles.” However in my opinion this journey made a few wrong turns in a few too many places. To begin with, what’s new? Yes many of the designs were appealing and flattering but not because they were novel, creative or exciting in any way but because its been done, tested and proven to work. The simplicity and everyday wearability was overshadowed by the heavy-set accessories. Unbalance works but needs to be carefully paired with intelligent thought. Having said that there are a few individual pieces that stand out and worth a second look. Many of the designs centred around the sophistication portrayed by the little black dress. Overall a very wearable and versatile collection but it lacks a much needed burst of creativity.

Stoned Cherrie closed SSAFW with a collection that in my personal opinion did not do the brand justice. Maybe it was the fact that they recently showed at the New York Fashion week in February or that this collection was specifically designed for a retail market. Whatever the reason may be, the collection seemed a diluted version of what the Stoned Cherrie brand epitomises. The pieces were bright, bold, fun with an air of sexy sophistication. Options for day to evening, casual to a bit more formal were all presented with a uniquely South African spin to them. A few individual pieces really captured the imagination with multiple layers of fabric and sensual lines. Stoned Cherrie described this summer 09/10 collection as artfully and sexily swerving fashion stereotypes and daring to be different. Everyone stumbles– the key is to do so gracefully, and this they did do. The fact remains that Stoned Cherrie is Stoned Cherrie – their brand, clothes and distinctive African design aesthetic with its celebration of South Africa’s rich heritage and icons will remain a force to be reckoned with. Appreciation for them and their popularity are cemented in their lovingly nonconformist revolutionary expression of freedom which, I think, is something everyone can identify with.

Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Doha

The theme of the Design Week was Mousharaka, meaning ‘collaboration’. “Collaboration is a combined effort resulting in the deepening of inter-relationships and shared knowledge. Design is now considered a team endeavor where collaboration is crucial to achieve innovative results that are inclusive of cultures and mediums. Designers are crossing boundaries and have become part of creative interdisciplinary teams that address broader issues of communication, style, space, systems thinking, cultural identity and commerce. Through collaboration with others, designers have become instrumental in teams that affect change on a global level”, said Muneera Umedaly Spence, the chair of the organising committee.

The Design Week attracted participation from most parts of the world and the following reportage, facilitated by VCUQatar, Icograda and DESIGN> magazine, provides an overview of the procedures, presentations and photographic documentation of the events. In addition, the reportage also includes links to speakers’ websites and project pages.

Education Symposium > 28 February 2009

Contributors: Priya D'Souza (VCUQatar) and Jacques Lange (DESIGN> magazine)

[white text] The Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week programme kicked off with the Education Symposium on a typically hot Dohan Saturday at the campus of VCUQatar, Education City. The diversity of dress of those who attended the opening ceremony clearly reflected the multi-cultural and broad demographic representation of the audience – young and old, students, academics and professional designers, government officials and the press, clad in abayas, jilbabs, tubes, saris, punjabis, jeans and sneakers, business suits, and the like. This diversity set the tone and sparked the lively energy for what was to follow during the next six days – a convergence of cultures, generations and tought leadeship. In her welcome address, host Allyson Vanstone, Dean of VCUQatar, said: “Mousharaka is one moment in the ongoing, educational and professional project that we each work towards in our everyday practice. We look forward to continuing the communication and building upon the initiatives, connections and ideas being explored this week.”

Don Ryun Chang, Icograda President from South Korea, extended his congratulations and appreciation to the VCUQatar for their partnership in presenting Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week in Qatar. “The core spirit of Icograda has always been a collaborative culture among our members that enables us to create a shared vision and common values. Collaboration is a combined effort resulting in the deepening of relationships and shared knowledge,” he added. He concluded by expressing shared hopes that the Design Week – the first collaboration of its kind in the Middle East – would take designers on the road to further innovation.

First on stage was Brockett Horne, co-chair of graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, USA, who spoke about changes in the role of the designer in practice and the opportunities that it provides for incorporating entrepreneurial skills into design curricula. Horne focused on the emergence of ‘clientless practice’ whereby designers deliver self-initiated ‘products’ as opposed to just delivering professional services to clients. She talked about how designers are crafting new solutions for savvy audiences and setting opportunities to work in new collaborative ways. She showed examples of student projects, which she facilitated and elaborated on how designers can work as activists, researchers, artists and enablers by initiating projects rather than just executing them. Read more about Brockett Horne

Kelly Beaverford, the second presenter, has worked on design and education projects in Uganda, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Iran, Qatar, Turkey and Canada. Now teaching at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, she focuses on cross-cultural design and studio pedagogy. Beaverford is also the founder and Executive Director of Architects Without Borders Canada. She co-presented with Leland Hill, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at VCUQatar, focussing on the topic of ‘service learning’ in the global community. Beaverford and Hill first presented a case study titled: The Little Tea House that Grew, which was executed in the rural village of Deydinler, Turkey. The project entailed building a tea house for the community, taking an exhisitng architectural structure and converting it into a tea house that would serve the majority of the local village community. Architecture, interior design, landscape planning and communication design students from the two universities first got to know each other, and then worked together with the community to make this project possible.

Beaverford and Hill also presented a library building project which they initiated in Uganda. This project highlighted the complexities of working in countries with challenging, socio-economic, cultural, political and developmental contexts, and indicated the challenges entailed in developing culturally-sensitive areas in design education curricula aimed at teaching inter-cultural competencies.

Read more about Architects Without Borders
Read more about The Little Teahouse That Grew
Read more about the library building project in Uganda

Ian Grout, the third presenter of the day, has been researching and teaching in product design at the Glasgow School of Art where he is specifically concerned with future developments in ecological and sustainable design. His presentation, Wide Horizons, focused on designing design education and its aspects as a collaborative activity: across disciplines, across cultures and how these collaborative perspectives afforded more meaningful practices.

The last speaker of day one, Claudia Meyer-Newman, is Educational Director at AIGA, USA. Meyer-Newman’s role entails supporting students in the AIGA Student Chapter at Cornish College of the Arts. Her presentation, Collaborative Learning Communities: 360 ways of creating relevance, focused on designers’ roles as strategic design thinkers who can contribute to advancing knowledge and enhancing both local and global understanding.

The first day’s procedures concluded with four hours of student workshops, which provided students the opportunity to collaborate in an energetic atmosphere lead by the Education Symposium presenters and VCU and VCUQatar faculty. The workshop themes were: Getting started; Co.Lab; First contact: How to start collaboration; Mousharaka: The typeface; Extreme design thinking; Playsphere: Where play meets collaboration; Making Doha: Mapping the contemporary Gulf city; Mapping the meaning of place; and Collaborative digital storytelling with a shared narrative.

Images by Marcus Elblaus

From Top to Bottom:
A section of the audience attending the Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Doha.
Delegates during a break, reflecting the diversity of cultures assembled at the Mousharaka event VCUQatar Dean, Allyson Vanstone, delivering the welcome address at the Education Symposium
Icograda President, Don Ryun Chang, delivering the welcome address at the opening of the Education Symposium
Education Symposium speakers, Leland Hill, Brocket Horne, Kelley Beaverford, Ian Grout and Claudia Meyer-Newman.

Education Symposium > 1 March 2009

Contributors: Priya D'Souza (VCUQatar) and Jacques Lange (DESIGN> magazine)

Day two of the Education Symposium brought five more speakers to the stage from various disciplines and from as far afield as New Zealand, UAE, USA, and India.

First up was Nicholas Vanderschantz, who lecturers at the Computer Science Department at the University of Waikato, in Hamilton, New Zealand. His presentation dealt with ‘Digital Storytelling’ as an art form. Communication design students at the University of Waikato worked on a collaborative project with institutional partners spanning a 4-year period, to create and develop a series of digital stories. These stories were many and varied in their themes and communication aesthetics and included live motion, stop motion, animation, photography, typography, hand rendered and computer rendered illustrations. According to Vanderschantz, the students learnt about communicating in collaboration, developing trust through honesty and became aware of the need for transparency of process.

The second speaker, Farid Esmaeil, is the founding partner of x-architects, a leading architecture and urban design practice in Dubai. Esmaeil has been a driving force in conceptual projects such as Xeritown, a 60 hectare sustainable city in Dubai, and Al Nasseem, a 12 hectare community development in Al-Ain, amongst others. His presentation on Xeritown dealt with sustainable urbanisation through collaboration focusing on the vision of the project, the ideas exchanged, methods of collaboration, the teams involved and the design. As the team comprised of various professions involved in building this town – from engineers, communication designers to landscape and lighting designers – based in London, Berlin, Cape Town, Zurich, Dubai, Iran and San Francisco, the primary mode of communication was a ‘digital online sketchbook’ which would involve everyone contributing proposals and comments. This would then go for approval to clients and changes would be made accordingly – a successful example of how this collaboration worked with the online sketchbook. Read more about Farid Esmaeil and x-architects

Barbara Sudick is the Nierenberg Distinguished Professor of Design in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University where she teaches collaborative interdisciplinary classes to graduate and post-graduate students in Communication Planning and Information Design and Human Computer Interaction. Frank Armstrong is a visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Typography, Interaction and Motion Design. Their presentation focussed on using collaboration plus indigenous knowledge to teach sustainable design. The presentation emphasised several critical factors: 350 million indigenous people from over 70 countries, comprising 5 000 languages and cultures, live sustainably. The presentation highlighted that these people are a tremendous knowledge resource since ther ‘collaboration’ with the ecosystem has been longterm and holistic. Sudick and Armstrong argued that the design community today can learn much from the indigenous people, especially the manner in which they collaborate as communities and apply their indigenous practices. Sudick and Armstrong believe that the application of these practices are the only way for humanity and the earth to sustain itself.

Read more about Barbara Sudick
Read more about Frank Armstrong

The final speaker of the day was Dr. Ajanta Sen, the International Director of Solar Project, a networking technology experimentation with cross-cultural collaborative learning environments for children. Her presentation entitled ‘Mela (India) meets Mousharaka (Qatar)’ focused on inspirations from culturally rooted practices and constructs to drive crosscultural collaboration in design. She highlighted the custom of ‘Potlatch’ practiced by the kwakwakwa’kwakw Indian tribe of British Columbia, which entailes a gift giving ceremony that serves a host of functions, essential to keeping the spirit alive in difficult times, as in the case of the economy today, while promoting altruism in the community.

Sen also presented Khotachiwadi, a village inside a city, which dealt with providing support through technology and the Solar Project – which networked a cross-cultural environment mediated through technology. The Khotachiwadi project brief given to students entailed that they capture the culturally rich information offered by the village community and locating ‘design opportunities’ while retaining earlier acts of collaboration.

Read more about Ajanta Sen

The presentations were followed by a vibrant Q&A session between the speakers and the audience. The day’s proceedings again concluded with students and speakers collaborating in four hours of student workshops, continuing to develop the work that they had done on day one.

Images by Marcus Elblaus

From Top to Bottom:
Nicholas Vanderschantz
Farid Esmaeil
Frank Armstrong and Barbara Sudick
Dr. Ajanta Sen

Education Symposium, MEDEA meeting and the opening of the Professional Conference > 2 March 2009

Contributors: Priya D'Souza (VCUQatar) and Jacques Lange (DESIGN> magazine)

The Education Symposium concluded on the morning of the third day of Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Doha. The students’ two-day workshops culminated in an exhibition of the best work and presentations focusing on nine topics. The workshop facilitators presented a gist of the workshops with their groups of 20 students each.

Brockett Horne’s project ‘Mousharaka: the typeface’ had participants work together to create a pictorial font that expressed their collective ideas about Qatar. Students created a font covering everything from camel paw prints, local architecture, Arabic calligraphy, seascapes, mosques, the Qatari flag, traffic, buildings, sandstorms, Gahwa, the oryx, pearl, sun and the majlis. This font was then digitized, giving students the overall experience of engaging in cross-cultural expression while using design to mediate interaction for those that use the font.

Barbara Sudick and Frank Armstrong’s project ‘Mapping the meaning of places’ focused on sensitising people to value the environment and think about sustainability, and experiencing places through their senses to show that they cared for the place. Sudick and Armstrong asked the students to abandon their previously planned trip to the traditional Qatari Souq Waqif, and instead visit the Villaggio, a newly-built Venetian-styled shopping mall, as inspiration for their project. There they spread out and soaked in through sight and sound the different senses and colors, met with people from different cultures and shared points of view that they never had given a thought to before, and incorporated all of this into their project.

Claudia Meyer-Newman’s ‘Extreme Design Thinking’ workshop produced a campaign that addressed the world’s water crisis. The project started with students watching Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary ‘Flow’ and then brainstormed, visualised ideas and reframed what seemed like an ‘unsolvable’ problem to create feasible solutions dealing with key issues like contamination, water shortage, privatisation and depravation of clean water. They designed an interactive installation with questions in bottle caps for guests attending Mousharaka whose responses were documented as used in developing proposed solutions.

Leland Hill and Kelly Beaverford’s ‘Getting Started’ workshop contributed to the development of a course called ‘Service Learning in the Global Community’. A series of exercises were conducted and four topics were selected as final animations. These included religious discrimination: a video featuring portraits that focused on the similarities as opposed to the differences. Other animations focused on the themes of the Environment, War & Peace and Education. Farid Esmaeil’s ‘Co.Lab.’ workshop had students work with a postcard, bringing to it all of their ideas and techniques from their different fields – graphic, interior and fashion design – to put together a display of disparate images, texts, diagrams coalesced into a fluid sequence of thoughts on the theme of collaboration. The outcome was a set of postcards that became a souvenir for the Mousharaka events.

Ajanta Sen’s ‘Playspheres’ workshop aimed to explore ‘play’ as a world of its own, where play comes in the guise of various activities not always obvious as play but with the promise of play. Students were encouraged to think out of the box and visualise environments and strategies aimed at heightening the values of our daily lives through a combination of play and collaboration resulting in a conceptual world residing in a series of mental maps, which could very well exist in the real world.

Nic Vanderschantz’s ‘Collaborative Digital Storytelling’ workshop explored the potential of digital storytelling to create collaborative and shared digital narratives. The students talked, moved around, brainstormed, learnt to be good listeners and time-managers and produced animations that featured all of these experiences.

Reda Sejini’s ‘Made in Doha: Mapping the Contemporary Gulf City’ workshop required students to document a sector or zone of the City of Doha, using a digital camera and sketches. They then presented their findings for discussion and after a ‘filtering process’, the examples that most represented the city’s innate culture, was used to produce a booklet which could act as a cultural guide to the city, accompanied by a brief essay on why these aspects of Doha’s DNA make it ‘Doha’.

Ian Grout’s ‘First Contact’ workshop gathered experiences from students focusing of their similarities rather than their differences. These were then used to creative different kinds of narratives using images to form collages, as interactive web pages, mailers, and interactive business cards based on themes of self, family and home.

The Education Symposium ended with a summary by Rick Poynor, the highly respected British writer on design, media and visual culture and Founding Editor of Eye magazine, who was tasked to extract core information from the Symposium presentations and Student Workshops, bridging, interconnecting and reframing the presented ideas while also summarising the knowledge gained. Poyner was further asked to consolidate and present his personal findings and views. While agreeing to the many positive aspects of collaboration presented at the Education Symposium and Student Workshops, he hoped designers would also come up with other realistic solutions that addressed more issues. In true Poynorial-style, he asked: “Why did everyone opt to agree? Why didn’t anyone risk disagreeing with the posed opinions?” Poynor concluded: “It’s all good and well to talk about collaboration in this forum, but how does it convert to real life?”

The afternoon of day three was dedicated to a Gulf regional education meeting. The objective of this meeting was to officially form and launch the Middle East Design Education Association (MEDEA). The intent of MEDEA is to bring educators from the Middle East together in a formal structure to build a working regional and international network, which will focus on excellence in teaching and research as well as preparing students to strive for excellence in design. This meeting was seminal in that it brought together stakeholders from many parts of the Gulf region to formalise collaboration through an official body. This is a new concept in this region since the Gulf, and its individual countries, do not have any formalised professional bodies looking after the development and interests of design and designers. MEDEA aims to be a platform for educators charged with getting the most out of design. Sonia Ashour, design entrepreneur from Saudi Arabia, Australian Russell Kennedy, President Elect Icograda and British designer Ian Silverstein were the speakers who focused on designers of the future and integration of design opportunities into business, civil society, design entrepreneurship and design leadership. VCUQatar’s Assistant Professor Peter Martin was assigned as facilitator generating a vision statement and agenda for future MEDEA meetings.

The highlight of the third day of Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Doha was the official opening of the Professional Conference. Muneera Umedaly Spence, Chairperson of the Mousharaka Organising Committee presided over the formalities. This was followed by VCUQatar Dean, Allyson Vanstone’s, welcome speech.

Vanstone thanked the Minister of Labor, Dr Sultan Al Dosari, Icograda President Don Chang, Vice-President of Education for the Qatar Foundation Dr Abdullah Al Thani and the audience, welcoming them to the Professional Conference of Mousharaka, the first Icograda Design Week ever to be hosted in the Arabian Gulf. She went on to thank the VCUQatar faculty and the Icograda board members for making this conference a reality.

Ms Vansotne continued by expressing her hopes for outcomes in the coming three days during the Mousharaka Professional Conference: “I am hoping for inspiration and the development of a dialogue that will energise design thinking in all spheres of design activity.” She continued by highlighting VCUQatar’s tenth anniversary and what the university has achieved and presented plans that the institution aims to accomplish in the near future: “Our primary mission is to lead design education in Qatar, and build regional capacity for a design research culture and a thriving, innovative, design profession. The scope of this challenge can only be accomplished through ongoing cooperation across cultures, religions, languages, disciplines, industries and countries. The attendance tonight of over 400 people in this audience, including 168 students from 14 different countries, ranging from Australia to Zimbabwe, tells me that we have lots of partners who are willing to join us in this endeavor. As the speakers and participants at the Mousharaka Edication Symposium so clearly illustrated during the past three days, design in the 21st century is an interdisciplinary, international and collaborative venture,” she added.

She concluded by thanking Her Highness, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for her vision and inexhaustible commitment to education and wished everyone an engaging conference. Don Chang, Icograda President addressed the gathering next, thanking Qatar Foundation and VCUQatar for hosting this Design Week in partnership with Icograda. He spoke about the relevance of design in the world today and how the role of designers had evolved so they were now communication designers, evolving responsibly in a changing planet, creating through interdisciplinary channels, thoughts of social, economical and cultural benefits for society.

Dr Abdullah Al Thani addressed the gathering on behalf of Qatar Foundation and spoke of His Highness, the Emir of Qatar’s vision to equip the country and the region to meet the challenges of the 21st century and how the Qatar Foundation positioned itself to facilitate this by focusing on the three pillars of education, research and community development. “The first to come was Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts. And I can say that, during the 10 years it has been here, it has made major contributions to all three parts of our mission,” he said. “But the hosting of this international design conference is for us a coming of age, and just as the opening of the Museum of Islamic Art has marked Doha’s accession to the title of one of the world’s great cultural capitals, hosting the Icograda Design Week in Doha does something similar in the area of design,” he remarked. He concluded by stating his hopes that guests leaving Qatar would be enriched by having witnessed, for a very short time, the remarkable developments that are transpiring in Qatar.

The highlight of the evening was the notable keynote address by renowned Qatari architect, Ibrahim Jaidah, who elaborated on the importance of ‘Mousharaka’, as a design philosophy, and how without it, we could not have been able to develop the civilisation we have today. Amongst others, he presented examples of the influence that Venetian artists and designers have had on Middle Eastern architecture, how the Ottomans, when they went to Europe, invited artists from all over the world to create masterpieces – another form of Mousharaka.

Jaidah’s also presented examples of his most notable professional work, such as the work that he had done on the Sharq Village & Spa. He spoke about how his design team had to recreate the 1960s neighborhood that existed on the original site but had since been demolished. He talked about working with the client, Qatar National Hotels, to make this feasible and the Thai spa operator, who had to learn about the regional culture and everything it entailed from the segregation of sexes to the effect of shades and shadows – resulting in a beautiful traditional-looking spa and resort complex.

“Everything from the lobby to the bedrooms had a theme. The lobby had to be spacious, yet contemporary, the bedrooms straight out of the Arabian Nights – all local vernacular. Yet we had to make this work, as the hotel has to make money, of course,” he smiled. He mentioned the other key service providers involved in the project, from the designers, and landscape artists to the management Ritz Carlton. He spoke of how the success of this collaboration resonated every time one walked through the hotel.

He continued by highlighting some of his other projects such as the 100-storey building that he consulted with worldfamous architects on, and the very contemporary mosque, where he worked very closely with celebrated Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. He concluded by telling the students in the audience about how fortunate they were to have the opportunities given to them and how they could be leading designers in the region.

Jaidah is a pioneer of a new movement in architecture in the Gulf who combines the far-reaching influences of Islamic art with a modern style. AEB’s work has led to several awards, including two other Arab Cities Awards and one Islamic Cities Award. Jaidah will soon be publishing a book charting the history of Qatari Architecture, followed by a second book chronicling the evolution of the AEB architectural style. Read more about Ibrahim Jaidah (www.aljaidah-brothers.com) and AEB’s activities (www.aeb-qatar.com)

Images by Marcus Elblaus

From Top to Bottom: Barabara Sudick and Franks Armstrong with their workshop group
Farid Esmaeil working with his workshop participants on the theme: Co.Lab
British design critic, Rick Poyner, delivering his conclusions at the end of the Education Symposium
The MEDEA speakers, Russell Kennedy, Sonia Ashour, Ian Silverstein and Peter Martin
Indian designer, Ajanta Sen, engaging with her workshop participants

Professional Conference > 3 March 2009

Contributors: Priya D'Souza (VCUQatar) and Jacques Lange (DESIGN> magazine)

Day four of Mousharaka opened on 3 March 2009, with Muneera Umedaly Spence’s, chairperson of the organising committee introducing the first speaker of the Professional Conference, Mario Gagliardi.

Gagliardi is the CEO of the Design Zone, Qatar, a new initiative of the Qatar Foundation, and a visionary development project for the first global creative hub in the Arabian Gulf. Gagliardi crafted the strategy for the Design Zone while leading ‘mg strategy’, a think-tank for design. His keynote address entitled ‘Designing the Future’ addressed how the geography of economics is rapidly changing the design world and how people’s expectations are becoming more demanding. He elaborated on how one-sided approaches were unable to tackle these complex issues of the 21st century and he highlighted the need for a ‘fresh start’.

He continued to present the resonspes developed by the Qatari Design Zone, which aims to be a place that focusses on inspiring creative professionals, establishing a platform to learn from the best, and a becoming a catalyst for design thinking and innovation. Design Zone in Doha is envisioned to build and develop a creative community, a livable community, involving everything from theater, to open air cinemas, beaches and vegetable gardens. It will be based on traditional Qatari architecture, which is eco-friendly, as opposed to modern architecture, which produces 66 tons of carbon emissions per sq. km. per year.

According to Gagliardi, Design Zone will be a “life-work creative resort, a zero-carbon community with life-work balance. So designers can go fishing while they’re grappling with ideas, thereby living and working in an environment that enables creativity. Design Zone is the first major project in the Gulf dedicated entirely to creativity and design, and as such, a major impetus for the future.” Read more about the Design Zone Qatar. Read more about Mario Gagliardi

Petra Blaisse, was the second speaker to address the Professional Conference. Blaisse, a leading theatre curtain and landscape designer, introduced her presentation by providing background information on her company, Inside Outside. She explained how her company operates and how the studio developed from a one-woman unit into a professional studio, and continued to explain the company’s collaborations with leading international architects. Blaisse talked about the domains in which Inside Outside works – interiors and exteriors. Starting with the emancipation of the curtain, followed by the philosophy, the garden, and the interior, and vice versa.

Blaisse’s poetically presented paper showcased examples of her work, some of which included the restoration project for the Hackney Empire Theatre in London (all curtains) and acoustic walls and curtains for the Mercedes Benz museum in Stuttgart, and many others. Blaisse’s presentation was surely a highlight of the Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week. Her elequent presentation was humble and honest and the quality of work that she presented left the audience feeling dumb stuck with the beauty that Inside Outside managed to create around the world. Read more about Petra Blaisse and Inside Outside

The next speaker was Dr Sami Angawi, a former fellow of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Angawi has a Doctorate of Philosophy in Islamic Architecture from the University of London, and a Master of Arts in Architecture from the University of Texas in Austin. He is the Founder and General Director of the AMAR Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The AMAR Center restores and rehabilitates traditional buildings and houses in Jeddah, Makkah Almumukaramah and Almadinah Almunawarah. Angawi, in his presentation took the audience on a journey from his days as a student in Austin until the present. His presentation titled ‘Al Mizan’ (the balance), focused on achieving a state of equilibrium by taking into account all factors, the evolving versus the constant; change versus continuity; and diversity versus unity. He showed examples of architecture projects from Mecca (his city) and his personal residence, the Al- Makkiyah residential villa, which epitomises the concept, methodology and visual expression of all these factors. Another example he elaborated on was the Boston Islamic Cultural Center. Angawi’s interactive presentation left the audience completely inspired. Read more about Dr Sami Angawi. The final professional presenter of the morning session, David Gibson, is an internationally recognised and published pioneer in the field of public information design. As the co-founder and managing principal of Two Twelve Associates, Inc. in New York City, Gibson has always believed in the power of design to transform public spaces and people’s awareness of their urban environments. His presentation focussed on how wayfinding design is an inherently collaborative practice – it is about people and places and helping people understand places that may not be familiar to them. He talked about the four ways to present such information: connectors, districts, landmarks, streets. Gibson presented several case studies and also described different models for successful inter-disciplinary collaboration. Read more about David Gibson and Two Twelve Associates, Inc.

The afternoon session commenced with a presentation by Kittiratana Pitipanich, an architect, educator and entrepreneur, who is currently the Design Advisory Director for the Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC), a nationally funded public organisation created to serve as an education and resource center for the study and advancement of design. His presentation focused on how TCDC, in cooperation with private sectors, SME entrepreneurs and designers, aims to raise public awareness in using design to add value to their products, along with helping Thai designers’ work gain visibility in the local and global marketplace. He elaborated on TCDC’s mission, vision and the creative economy, giving an overview of Thailand’s creative industries and concluding with the roadmap of Thailand’s creative economy. Read more about the Thailand Creative & Design Center

The second speaker of the afternoon, Nada Debs, has been lauded at furniture design shows in Paris and London and has built up a faithful clientele spanning several continents. Her iconic floating stools can be found in almost every chic Beiruti home, and have even been the subject of contemporary artists’ work. Through her personal experience, designing furniture has taken on many forms of collaboration: a collaboration between cultural identities – mainly between the minimalism of the Japanese aesthetic and the elaborate aspect of Middle Eastern design; a collaboration between different times – between the past and the present – the traditional and the modern; a collaboration between two different worlds – that of the craftsmen and that of the industrialist; a collaboration between the heart and the mind – reclaiming the role of emotion alongside logic. Her presentation emphasised her belief that design is the perfect medium through which one can study the essence of these conflicts and contradictions and resolve them harmoniously. Her East & East furniture line has emanated from the conflicting nature of these elements. Read more about Nada Debs

The last speaker of the day was Nigerian author, Chris Abani. He has been described as a writer with mesmerising power, embracing warmth and transcendent compassion. He is a Professor at the University of California, Riverside and the recipient of many awards. His prose includes Song For Night, The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, GraceLand, and Masters of the Board. His poetry collections are Hands Washing Water, Dog Woman, Daphne's Lot, and Kalakuta Republic. His luminous presentation highlighted the redemptive power of art to battle tyranny and to remind us of our common humanity. Read more about Chris Abani

Design Debate Doha

The proceedings of the fourth day of Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Doha concluded on a high note with the much anticipated Design Debate Doha, which was conceptualised by Icograda Vice President, Halim Choueiry, who thought that Mousharaka would be a perfect platform to launch a debate of this kind. The format was based on the model of the BBC Doha Debates and attracted a packed venue. Design Debate Doha focused on the topic ‘This house believes: Globalization harmfully subverts culturally unique sensibilities.’ Panelists for the motion included writer and design critic from the UK, Rick Poynor, Dr Sami Angawi, Founder and General Director of the AMAR Center in Saudi Arabia, and Australian educator and designer, Russell Kennedy. Panelists against the motion included Qatari architect Ibrahim Jaidah, Roger Mandle, Head of the Qatar Museums Authority and Petra Blaisse, founder of design studio Inside Outside. Both sides put forward very strong arguments for their case and the audience asked questions which were just as passionate. Kamahl Santamaria, the enigmatic Al Jazeera English channel presenter moderated the discussion.

Speaking for the motion Poynor spoke about globalisation being responsible for most cities in the world looking the same with commercial icons such as McDonald’s being present everywhere. He compared this to forms of colonialism and imperialism, and said that heritage sites were overtaken by ‘tacky’ commercialism. Poyner claimed that: “We can lay the blame at the door of a certain political attitude which supports extreme commercialisation.” Jaidah, speaking against the motion, talked about how globalisation helped small countries like Qatar learn from other cultures and implement better practices. He gave the example of the Fulla doll, developed as an Arab alternative to Barbie. Fulla provides Arab children with their own cultural icon instead of emulating Barbie.

Speaking for the motion, Kennedy continued in the same vein as Poynor, and talked about how Americanism was taking over the world and how indigenous cultures were being lost to Coca-Cola and Disney. He contextualised his argument by looking at the influence of globalization in four areas: Language (the loss of indigenous languages); Storytelling (who’s stories are we telling); Main street (homogenisation of urban landscapes) and concluded with Defining beauty. The latter looked at the alarming rise of cosmetic surgery and cosmetics in Asia and Africa to alter ethnic features in favour of the Western aesthetic.

Blaisse started her argument against the motion by showing the famous 17th century painting, The Music Lesson, by Jan Vermeer. She said that the famous masterpiece was a good illustration of the positive aspects of globalisation. She analised the geographic origins of all the elements portrayed in the paining and claimed that the global exploration of the world led to the Golden Age of The Netherlands. She also stood her ground by using nature as an example, using ecological studies in the USA as a departure point. When botanists were looking at how local plants were facing extinction, they thought it was because of the foreign invader plants. So, they worked to eliminate the foreign invaders only to find that this exacerbated the situation. This proved, she said, that even nature agreed that foreign elements were necessary for local ones to thrive.

The last speaker for the motion, Dr Angawi, said while he wasn’t against globalisation, he couldn’t accept the concept of superimposition that globalisation came with. He talked about the superimposition of the new on the old, in the bargain destroying heritage sites and anything of the old that should have been treasured. He used his hometown of Mecca to illustrate his point. The final speaker, Mandle referred to globalisation as globalism instead, and talked about how cultural exchange existed from the times of the crusaders and Ottomans. He argued that not just the West, but even the East, and countries like Qatar were able to export technologies and processes because of globalism today. He compared the fear of globalism to Talebanism and the North Korean way – closed cultures who were fanatic in a bid to keep other cultures from polluting their own. He said nobody would thrive in this kind of cultural isolation.

The debate allowed questions from the floor and concluded with the audience voting on an audited electronic system. In the end the audience voted 47% for the motion and 53% against.

Images by Marcus Elblaus

From Top to Bottom: Panelists for the motion were Rick Poynor, Russell Kennedy and Dr Sami Angawi.
Dr Sami Angawi presenting his arguments at the Design Debate Doha. Seated are the panel against the motion, Ibrahim
Jaidah, Petra Blaisse and Roger Mandle
David Gibson
Dr Sami Angawi
Nada Debs speaking at the Professional Conference

Professional Conference > 4-5 March 2009

Contributor: Samara Watkiss

Day five of Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Qatar started with another keynote speaker, Mark Kingwell. He is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto and a contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine. He is the author of eleven books of political and cultural theory, including the bestsellers Better Living (1998) and The World We Want (2000). His articles on art, architecture and design have appeared in, among others, Harper’s, the Harvard Design Magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, to name just a few.

Kingwell's presentation was titled: ‘Concrete Reveries: Consciousness and the City’, which is also the title of his latest book. He discussed the relationship between consciousness and built forms. He pointed that Descartes’ notion of consciousness suggests a complete separation between mind and body is not very satisfying to the embodied consciousness which we experience. He purposed to answer three questions by looking at three cities and linking them to quotations by famous philosophers:

1. "The mere object is not the work of art." – Martin Heidegger
2. "When is art?" – Nelson Goodman
3. "The city is time lived as space." – Henri Lefebvre

Kingwell proceeded to discuss New York City, Shanghai and Toronto. He talked about New York City being the capital of the 20th century. An idea that connects with the ‘spacialisation of time’ suggested by the third quote by Lefebvre. He spoke of Shanghai as the city of tomorrow and of its tremendous population (22 million). Kingwell used Toronto to discuss how climate effects build forms. He defined the sum of the Canadian national character: “…as trying to get as far away from the weather as possible (moving south) without becoming Americans”.

A few other interesting points that he raised were:

• humans have created more concrete than any other man-made thing
• for a statue or building or what-have-you to become a monument it must reorganise the psycho-geography of the city; and
• He spoke about the grid system of New York City as a "screen through which we force the aspirations of capital."

Kingwell’s presentation was ‘pretty heady’ but a very enjoyable. Read more about Mark Kingwell

Donna Campbell, a lecturer in Maori material culture, indigenous textile creation and Maori art history at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, spoke on indigenous collaborations in the fiber arts and told the story of ‘The Eternal Thread Exhibition’. The exhibition featured Maori textiles that traveled to the western part of the United States as part of a collaboration with the Native Americans of the Northwestern United States. She also talked about the bounds that were formed between the different tribes across continents because of this exhibition. Read more about Donna Campbell

Delaware provided ample entertainment during the last presentation of the day. Delaware is a Japanese ‘super sonic group’ who designs music and ‘musics’ design. They define themselves as ‘artoonists’, meaning art plus cartoon. Their work takes on multiple forms such as recordings, visual installation, writing, web, mobile phone, poster, cross stitch, and live performance. Delaware’s presentation took the form of a multimedia performance that utilised pre-recorded words and music as well as text typed and then read by various computerised voices as the sole means of verbal communication between the presenters and the audience. They introduced a project that is an application for the iPhone that looks and functions like a turntable, complete with scratch and mixing options. Read more about Delaware

Day five of Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week ended with an Icograda Regional Meeting and the launch of Adobe’s CS4 in the Gulf region.

Day 6

Contributors: Samara Watkiss and Priya D'Souza (VCUQatar)

The unquestionable highlight of the Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week featured the final keynote speaker, Mira Nair one of Hollywood’s most accomplished and award-winning directors. Her successes include ‘Salaam Bombay!’ – her debut feature which was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film – ‘Mississippi Masala’, ‘Monsoon Wedding’, ‘Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love’, ‘My Own Country’, and ‘Vanity Fair’. Nair’s presentation began with short video montage of clips from her feature film, ‘The Namesake’.

Nair grew up in Delhi and referred to herself as one of the "post-colonial children". She explained that her first inspiration came from Jathra folk theater, which describes the great struggles of good and evil. From this type of theatre she learned that what is required to create a great narrative is "vision and passion and great drama," and not necessarily a big Hollywood budget. She also said, about her process, that she looks for issues that get under her skin. Several times during the lecture she said that she is not interested in teaching people about her country. She enigmatically claimed: "to be a cultural ambassador is quite boring." She is also not interested in being an anthropologist: "I can't bare anthropology in my films."

Nair continued to articulate her driving philosophy, which is particularly relevant in relationship to the ongoing discussion of globalisation at the Mousharaka conference – the more local a story is, the more universal. "Specificity is my treasure," she said. Nair contrasted her focus on locality to what she called the "Euro-pudding" approach to film making. For example, a film with an American star actress, and British actor faking a German accent filmed in some unnamed European country. She said that although this attempts to ‘please everyone’, she believes the audiences never really buy it. In her film ‘Monsoon Wedding’, three languages are spoken and she did not subtitle any of it because she did not want to pander to a particular (English speaking) audience. She also said that the actors' expression, the jocularity, should express what might not be understood through language. She stated that people all around the world felt like the family in ‘Monsoon Wedding’ was their family because of the specificity of that particular culture.

Nair also spoke about her process of directing films, saying that she creates a binder filled with images that suggest the feeling of each scene she is planning to film. She gives this binder to her crew many weeks before the filming commences. She does this so when she is actually filming, she does not have to talk very much. She said this allows her to focus and remain porous to the inspiration of the moment.

Nair addressed the students in the audience particularly, and offered her advice or ‘little mantras’ for working creatively:

1. Never treat anything as a stepping-stone. Give yourself fully to every project and do not see it merely as a means to an end.
2. Practice BKS Iyengar’s Yoga, to be brave even when it means being lonely as happens with artists most times.
3. The heart should inform the brain. Allow inspiration to come from anywhere.
4. Beware the fruits of action. Don't focus too much and rewards of your work, they can be confusing and distract you from your art.

She also advised that the best collaborator is not always the person with the best C.V. but someone with whom you have a creative synergy.

The presentation ended with the second ever screening of ‘8’, a six-minute short that addresses the UN Millennium goal of Gender Equality. The beautiful and jarring film tells the morally ambiguous tale of a Muslim woman leaving her husband and young son to become the second wife of another man, with whom she is in love. Read more about Mira Nair at (www.mirabaifilms.com)

The Professional Conference concluded with an interactive panel discussion and lunch at the Souq where delegates had one final opportunity to interact with the impressive list of talented speakers.

Delegates were unanimous in commenting on their experiences of the past six days. The quality and diversity of all the presentations were consistently excellent, providing ample food for thought and a visual feast for the eye. Delegates left invigorated and inspired.

The Mousharaka: Icograda Design Week, Qatar, ended with a gala dinner at the Srahq Village and Spa. The entertainment for the evening was a fashion show presented by VUQatar alumna and budding entrepreneur, Sara Nasser Abdulghany’s Sara’s Secrets. Guests got a glimpse of Arabian fashion from an original Qatari point of view and a reflection of the designer’s personality. The fabrics were rich, luxurious and epitomised everything exquisite, artistic and truly Arabesque, with names that could have been picked straight out of the Arabian Nights.

About Icograda

Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is the world body for professional communication design. Founded in 1963 in London, UK, it is a voluntary assembly of organisations concerned with graphic design, visual communication, design management, promotion, education, research and journalism. Icograda promotes communication designers' vital role in society and commerce and unifies the voices of graphic designers and visual communicators worldwide. For more information visit www.icograda.org

About Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar:

Established in the USA in 1838 and in Qatar in 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University offers students from all over the world the opportunity to earn Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fashion, graphic and interior design. A team of highly skilled professors provide rigorous curricula that prepare students to assume leadership roles in the professional design field of their choice. VCUQatar regularly organises and hosts exhibitions, gallery events, world-class conferences and holds an annual fashion show. VCUQatar is supported and funded by the Qatar Foundation.
For more information visit www.qatar.vcu.edu

About Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development

Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation is a private, non-profit organisation committed to the principle that the nation’s greatest natural resource is its people. The headquarters of Qatar Foundation are located within its flagship project, Education City, a fourteen million square-meter campus which hosts numerous progressive learning institutions and centers of research, including branch campuses of six of the world’s leading universities, plus a cuttingedge research and development center. Qatar Foundation also works to enhance the quality of life in Qatar by investing in community health and development. For more information visit www.qf.org.qa

Images by Marcus Elblaus

From Top to Bottom:
Mira Nair speaking at the Professional Conference.
Mark Kingwell, Meera Nair and Dr Sami Angawi engaging in the panel discussion at the Professional Conference.
A view of the gala dinner at the Srahq Village and Spa.
Models displaying outfit from the Sara's Secrets collection.