Fanoon Lecture Series 2026

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art present Fanoon, a new public lecture series and university seminar bringing internationally renowned artists into dialogue with audiences and students in Doha, Qatar.

The public lecture series is presented in partnership with Qatar Creates Talks, expanding opportunities for audiences in Doha to engage with international artists, ideas, and contemporary creative practice. Each artist provides a unique lens on research-driven practices, emphasizing architectural concerns and the complex legacies of colonial histories impacting today’s artistic landscape.

September 8, 3pm: Rayyane Tabet 
Rayyane Tabet (b. 1983, Achkout, Lebanon) engages with the interplay between objects and narratives to recontextualize major historical events. His installations, performances, and publications have been exhibited in esteemed venues, such as The Louvre and the Walker Art Center, and featured in global biennials.

September 29, 3pm: Bahar Noorizadeh
Bahar Noorizadeh’s work explores the intersections of art and capitalism through diverse mediums, including video and writing. She examines economic narratives from cybernetic socialism to contemporary financial systems. A PhD graduate from Goldsmiths, she is a resident artist at the Rijksakademie (2026–27) and currently teaches at the Design Academy Eindhoven.

October 27, 3pm: Shuddhabrata Sengupta of Raqs Media Collective
The Raqs Media Collective—Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta—integrates contemporary art with philosophical inquiry. Their work invites critical contemplation on power structures through installations and performances, encouraging renewed perspectives on societal issues.

November 17, 3pm: Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR) 
DAAR, founded by Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, operates at the crossroads of art, architecture, and politics. Their acclaimed projects merge theory and practice, transforming exhibitions into sites for civic action and critical discourse, exemplified by their educational initiatives in refugee contexts.

Each participating artist will deliver a public lecture at Mathaf’s Makan Auditorium. The lectures are free and open to all, offering audiences a unique opportunity to engage with the artists’ research, methodologies, and wider fields of inquiry.

Seminar sessions
Seminar sessions, led by writer and curator Tirdad Zolghadr, are open to students across all Education City campuses in Doha. Through this collaboration, the series fosters ongoing dialogues around contemporary practices and supports the development of innovative curricula.

About our PAPR program​, please visit here. About Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, please visit here.