Part of the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture, the programme and subsequent exhibition reinforce the shared commitment of both nations to support the creative industries
Qatar Museums has announced that four designers of Qatar are taking part in Design Doha Exchange Qatar | Morocco: Crafting Design Futures, a year-long programme involving a visit to Morocco to work with local artists, designers, and artisans to explore the intersections of contemporary craft practices and innovative design between the two nations. The program, which serves both as a major pillar of the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture and the inaugural Design Doha biennial, also brought four Moroccan artists and designers to Qatar.
The Qatar-based participating designers are Reema Abu Hassan, Majdulin Nassrallah, Nada Elkharashi, and Abdulrahman Al Muftah, who bring expertise in ceramic traditions, contemporary forms, installation and spatial interventions, pigment and natural materials, and upcycling to engage with their Moroccan counterparts. Morocco-based artists and designers Amine El Gotaibi, Sara Ouhaddou, Bouchra Boudoua, and Hamza Kadiri are exploring various disciplines while in Qatar such as textiles, wood craftsmanship, installation work with ceramic and glass, and pottery.
Their work sustains collaborations with artisan communities and shared cultural narratives and contemporary practices which will continue to enrich the exchange and their residencies. In addition, all of the designers share a deep commitment to sustaining the languages, communities, narratives, traditions, typologies, and objects of craft within their respective contexts and through their own practices as artists and designers.
Crafting Design Futures aims to establish a network of artists and designers across Morocco with active relationships to Qatar and support designers of Qatar and artists and designers of Morocco who are developing new work and ways of working across design and craft.
Gwen Farrelly, curator of Crafting Design Futures, said, “By bringing these acclaimed designers, artists, and craftspeople from Qatar and Morocco together, Crafting Design Futures builds a greater understanding of both cultures and ensures that the skills and creative practices that have been instrumental to life in both countries for centuries will continue for generations to come.”
Ghada Al Khater, co-curator of the programme added, “Through collaboration and exchange, Crafting Design Futures not only celebrates the vibrant heritage and cultural traditions of Qatar and Morocco, but also encourages adaptation and innovation in the face of modern challenges. By preserving and advancing artistic traditions, we lay the foundations for a future where craftsmanship thrives.”
Running throughout 2024, the Design Doha Exchange Crafting Design Futures is being realised through three distinct phases:
● In January, featured Qatar-based designers spent one week in Morocco visiting the cities of Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, and Fes to engage with the Moroccan artists and designers in their studios, spend time at a school to learn Moroccan traditional craft directly with artisans, and visit a diverse range of craft and design studios and cultural sites.
● This month, Morocco-based artists and designers are in Qatar for a two-week research residency where they are working at Liwan Design Studios and Labs and Torba Farm. In addition to participating in Design Doha’s opening week events, the Moroccan artists and designers will visit cultural sites that are relevant to their practices as well as the studios of Qatari designers.
● Later this year, the exchange will culminate with an exhibition featuring works from all eight participating artists and designers in Doha titled Crafting Design Futures Exhibition Qatar, showcasing new works that emerge from the exchange. The exhibition will bring members of the public into dialogue with craft and design across Morocco and Qatar and be part of the Fall 2024 exhibitions programme presented as part of Qatar Creates, the year-round national cultural movement that curates, promotes, and celebrates the diversity of cultural activities in Qatar.
In addition to serving as a prominent initiative in the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture, a cultural partnership designed to establish long-lasting ties between two nations and promote respect and understanding among diverse cultures, Crafting Design Futures is also part of Qatar’s inaugural design biennial, Design Doha, the showcase for excellence and innovation in the design community in Qatar and the MENA region. Design Doha began with a week of special events and exhibition openings on 24 February 2024, with programming continuing through August 2024.
The biennial includes major exhibitions, new commissions, juried awards, panel conversations with global industry leaders, collaborations with regional design studios, coaching programs on the business of design, and special events. Design Doha activities are taking place within the Doha Design District, a creative neighbourhood that nurtures collaboration, creativity, and innovation within the design community. The Doha Design District takes inspiration from its location, Msheireb Downtown Doha, one of the smartest and most sustainable cities in the world that was meticulously designed to be in harmony with local traditions and modern standards.
Glenn Adamson, artistic director of Design Doha added, “We have created the biennial to serve as a platform for designers from across the Arab World, including in Qatar itself. Our goal is to elevate both individual practices and the creative communities throughout the region. Presenting a creative exchange as part of our inaugural programme demonstrates our commitment to cultural heritage and the value of dialogue between different parts of the MENA region. We are excited to welcome the designers participating in Crafting Design Futures to the biennial and look forward to seeing their new works in an exhibition later this year.”
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