The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of the Arts in Qatar is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in Education City. The school is the international branch campus of VCUarts, a top-tier arts and design school in the United States.

The school began as the Shaqab College of Design Arts, offering majors in Graphic Design, Fashion Design, and Interior Design, with their first classes enrolling in September 1998.

In 2001, the Virginia State Council of Higher Education recommended that Shaqab College of Design Arts become a formal branch campus of VCU. It was authorised by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s legislature in 2002.

In 2009, two academic programmes were added to the School of the Arts in Qatar: a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Painting and Printmaking and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Design Studies. During the fall semester of 2012, VCUarts Qatar welcomed the first group of students into the new BA Art History programmeVCU was the first US university in Education City.

Activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary will begin this month, kicking off with the 20/20/20 Alumni Exhibition, which will celebrate the diversity of alumni and their successes in the art and design fields. More events will follow through the end of the2018 academic year.

As part of the 20th anniversary, VCUQatar will henceforth be known as VCUarts Qatar, reflecting a brand alignment and new logo based on the identity of the main campus. This change, which includes changing VCUQatar’s logo to VCUarts Qatar, will now reflect the full name of the branch campus: Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.

According to VCUarts Qatar’s Executive Director of Communications, Hallema Sharif, designing a brand mark to work seamlessly across all digital platforms while preserving its heritage, was key to the overall effort that also includes one of the most comprehensive brand systems ever introduced to the VCUarts family.

VCUarts Qatar Dean Akel I Kahera, PhD, said that VCUarts and VCUarts Qatar’s brand alignment is a tangible, visible expression of their commitment to art and design in Qatar and beyond.

The evolved brand identity will be rolled out to all VCUarts Qatar channels, partners, communications, and experiences beginning in September 2017.

To learn more about VCUarts Qatar, please visit their website through this link