Mathaf and VCUarts Qatar launch Fanoon, a new public lecture series and university

Doha, Qatar - Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) have joined forces to launch Fanoon, a groundbreaking public lecture series and university seminar series. This collaboration brings internationally acclaimed artists to Doha for in-depth discussions with audiences and students.

The series encompasses 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 collective knowledge production with Raqs Media Collective, and Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti's decolonial spatial practice with Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR).

Fanoon expands upon the legacy of VCUarts Qatar's original Fanoon Center for Printmedia Research, established in 2012. This pioneering print-publishing program in the Middle East fostered important creative work and provided students with hands-on artistic experience.

Fanoon marks a new partnership between a museum and an arts university, connecting Mathaf with VCUarts Qatar's Painting and Printmaking programme. Through a series of public lectures and university seminars, Fanoon fosters ongoing dialogue around contemporary artistic practice and proposes an innovative model for arts education.

Each participating artist will deliver a free, open-to-all public lecture at Mathaf's Makan Auditorium. Following the lectures, a university seminar led by writer and curator Tirdad Zolghadr will allow students from across Education City to delve deeper into the presented ideas through continued discussion and study. The lectures will take place every month, beginning on September 8.