9th March & 10th March 2022, 9 AM – 12 PM
Room 281
Upon Registration Only

This workshop explores various technological practices through the lens of mythical/irrational structures as a tool to disrupt the western imaginary and logic. Through discussions and experimentations, we will trace speculative narratives of technology and machinery back to premodern cosmologies.

In Islamic traditions, occult practices depend heavily on a numerology known as “Al-Jafr,” the science of numbers claimed to be taught by Imam-Ali. The simple idea is that numbers are stored in the time/space fabric of the universe and can be called on to represent different elements. For example, the planet’s moves and positions that can be calculated based on its rotation reveal astrological information. It is believed that by using rational mathematics, you can calculate such physical elements, as well as calculate and manipulate other spiritual or mystical elements that are in control of or connected to the physical world.

Al-Awfaq, also known as “magic squares” are algorithmic structures used to carry out such calculations. They are believed to process and channel mystic powers in order to manifest them in a physical form. These algorithmic squares are the base of any talisman’s drawing on material varying from paper to animal skin and plant leaves. The talisman is the code that embodies the non-physical calculation of mystic power/energy/information.

Computer machines are built of a combination of circuit boards made out of silicon, ceramics, copper, gold, and other materials. These circuits run by regulating electrical signals using mathematical algorithms that define certain rational processes in order to calculate specific operations, and deliver logical results. To define and write such algorithms you have to code and embody them inside the material part (the circuit).

Participants should have basic knowledge of creative coding and prototyping tools such as Touchdesigner, processing, openFrameworks, etc., and are required to bring their laptops or tablets with 2D or 3D visualization software installed.

This event is an in-person event for the VCUarts Qatar community only. Please use the registration button to register.

• 10th March 2022, 5:30 PM
• Atrium
• Upon Registration Only (Limited seats available)

How do we historicise or begin to reflect on a present that is so free-wheeling that it is rife with constant speculation and anxiety? One minute we are in fear of Artificial Intelligence, but in an instant, we are interminably interlinked with them, without realising. Human lives are now fashioned and intertwined into a form of living media. Enter the metaverse—a schematic field laid out decades ago—a paradigm of and for augmenting reality that is accelerating once again. An NFT you say. You want one; the best one; gotta catch ‘em all. A currency that is not your own. A banking system built without plastic or paper; silver or gold. Is it real or is this a game of monopoly? In this closing keynote, Dr. Omar Kholeif, one of the leading experts on digital visual culture, presents a reflective survey of our present, exploring the illusory forms and aesthetics that define it.

Omar Kholeif will be giving this keynote virtually to a live audience. Seats are limited and are only open to VCUarts Qatar or Education city students, faculty, or alumni. In-person attendees must follow VCUarts Qatar guidelines related to COVID-19.

This event will be streamed live. Members of the public are welcome to ask questions in a moderated chat, at the end of each session. Please use the registration button to register and receive a link to your chosen event.

The artist recalls personal experiences that occurred at the Egyptian Embassy, at Counter #6, the division that handles Palestinian refugees who carry Egyptian travel documents. The artist sets a mood of dream and hope played in irony portraying the endless dilemma of those who struggle with identity and citizenship.

This film is screened as part of the Gulf Metaverse 2.0 program curated by Róisín Tapponi (Assyrian Iraqi-Irish film curator, programmer, writer, and academic)

The screening is taking place in the Atrium on 8th March 2022 at 9:30 AM for the VCUarts Qatar community only. Please use the registration button to register.

Furthermore, this film is streamed via Shashamovies.com.

• Zach Lieberman (MIT Media Lab, Future Sketches Group)
• Murilo Polese (Brazilian Creative Technologist)
• Edgardo Avilés-López (Mexican engineer, researcher, and artist)
• Hind Al Saad (Qatari designer, maker, and creative coder)

8th March & 9th March 2022, 4:15 PM – 7:15 PM
Room 214
Upon Registration Only

In this workshop we will study computational art, by sharing the work of 3-4 artists from the past decades, to co-create our own computational art histories through recreating the works of artists who inspire us. We will use contemporary techniques to gain aesthetic, analytical, and technical knowledge, and study the contexts from which these artists’ works emerged. Thus, we will be able to better understand the politics, communities of practice, and social and artistic movements they engaged in. By recreating historic works, we learn what modern tools and approaches have to offer, through our focus on the building blocks of media art, generative design practice, and computational techniques. This will be through a toolkit featuring a series of exercises and questions to unpack and expand on the themes, techniques, and communities of practice engaged by artists.

Participants are required to bring their laptop with Zoom and Discord already installed.

This event is an in-person event for the VCUarts Qatar community only. Please use the registration button to register.

• 7th March 2022, 9 AM – 11 AM
• Room 281
• Upon Registration Only

Forensic Architecture (FA) is a research agency, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, investigating human rights violations including violence committed by states, police forces, militaries, and corporations. FA works in partnership with institutions across civil society, from grassroots activists to legal teams, to international NGOs and media organizations, to carry out investigations with and on behalf of communities and individuals affected by conflict, police brutality, border regimes, and environmental violence. Our investigations employ cutting-edge techniques in spatial and architectural analysis, open-source investigation, digital modeling, and immersive technologies, as well as documentary research, situated interviews, and academic collaboration. Findings from our 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.

This event is an in-person event for the VCUarts Qatar community only. Please use the registration button to register.

• 7th March 2022, 5:30 PM
• Atrium
• Upon Registration Only (limited seats available)

Forensic Architecture (FA) is a research agency, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, investigating human rights violations including violence committed by states, police forces, militaries, and corporations. FA works in partnership with institutions across civil society, from grassroots activists to legal teams, to international NGOs and media organizations, to carry out investigations with and on behalf of communities and individuals affected by conflict, police brutality, border regimes, and environmental violence. Our investigations employ cutting-edge techniques in spatial and architectural analysis, open-source investigation, digital modeling, and immersive technologies, as well as documentary research, situated interviews, and academic collaboration. Findings from our 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.

This event is an in-person event for the VCUarts Qatar community only that will be streamed live. Members of the public are welcome to ask questions in a moderated chat, at the end of each session. Please use the registration button to register and receive a link to your chosen event.