The Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) is bringing the public an exhibition titled ‘Futurisms’, from 7 March to 9 April. 

The opening night will also feature an online panel discussion at 6 pm, between Jasmine Murrell, Saba Taj, Alisha Wormsley, Saks Afridi, and the artist collective, Hyphen Labs, where participants will initiate a conversation between Afrofuturism, Sci-fi Sufism, and Muslim Futures. The discussion will be moderated by Ingrid LaFleur, a globally-recognised curator, artist, activist and Afrofuturist.

SEE ALSO: Futurisms Exhibition

 

Alisha B Wormsley is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural producer who shot to fame with her work, There are Black People In The Future, based on which she created a public programme that gives mini-grants to open up discourse around displacement and gentrification. In 2020, Wormsley launched an art residency for Black creative mothers called Sibyls Shrine, which supports over 70 mothers annually.

Her work imagines the future of arts, science, and technology through the lens of a black woman in America, challenging contemporary views of modern American life through multiple formats such as sculptures, billboards, performance art, or film. Through her work, she links social engagement, activism, redistribution of wealth, science fiction, public art, film, and media to reveal lesser-known histories, and possibilities of alternative futures. Wormsley was awarded a fellowship with Monument Lab and the Goethe Institute.

Jasmine Murrell is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary visual artist who employs several different mediums to create sculptures, installations, photography, performance, land art and films that blur the line between history and mythology. In her exploration of the African diaspora and ancient craft techniques, Murrell juxtaposes American artifacts with the products of other knowledge systems, troubling the historical record to reveal other truths and other narratives.

She has exhibited nationally and internationally, in venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bronx Museum, the Museum Contemporary Art Chicago, the Whitney Museum, the African-American Museum of Art, and the International Museum of Photography. Murrell has also been a resident artist at the Bronx Museum AIM programme, Baxter St Gallery workspace, BRIClab contemporary art residency, and Block Gallery workspace. Her work has been included in the book MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora and featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Hyperallergic, The Detroit Times, and several other publications.

Saks Afridi’s work exists in a genre he terms Sci-Fi Sufism, which is about discovering galaxies and worlds within yourself. He tries to visualise this search by fusing mysticism and storytelling. He makes art objects in multiple mediums and he draws inspiration from Sufi poetry, Afrofuturism, South Asian folklore, Islamic mythology, Science Fiction, Architecture and Calligraphy.

Afridi, who studied advertising at the Academy of Art and later sculpture at the Art Students League of New York, entered the art world with a background in advertising, as Creative Director of brands such as MTV, Mercedes-Benz, and more recently, White Castle. He is the recipient of Cannes Lion Awards & AD Pencils, OneShow pencils and a United Nations Award for Peace & Understanding. His work has been featured in Artforum, The New York Times, BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, and Stephen Colbert.

Hyphen-Labs is an international team of women of colour working at the intersection of technology, art, science, and the future. Drawing from their global vision and unique perspectives, they develop meaningful and engaging ways to explore emotional, human-centred and speculative design. Through their global vision and multi-disciplinary backgrounds, they challenge conventions and stimulate conversations, placing collective needs and experiences at the centre of evolving narratives.

Futurisms is in partnership with VCUarts Qatar’s biennial art and design conference, Tasmeem Doha. Tasmeem Doha is an international art and design conference hosted and organised by VCUarts Qatar since 2004, with attendees and participants typically consisting of international designers, artists, academics, students, industry professionals, and the local community.

The online event of Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is open to the public. More information on the conference is available at radicalfutures.qatar.vcu.edu. 

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