Residents and visitors in Qatar will have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills in their fields of endeavour, as well as discover the country’s history, with the workshops and summer activities organised by Qatar Museums (QM) starting this weekend.
Aspiring filmmakers, aged 13 to 17, can take part in a three-week short documentary filmmaking workshop scheduled from July 28 to August 17 at the Katara – the Cultural Village, building 16 (Rehearsal Room).
“Through hands-on and enjoyable exercises, participants will learn all the technical and practical techniques required to make a documentary short film including elements of story development, visual storytelling, editing and sound design,” QM said in an e-mail to its Culture Pass members recently.
“During the workshop, students will work together in groups to bring their ideas to life and produce their own short documentary films,” QM added.
The “carefully-designed workshop,” which was organised in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute, will have four hours, six days a week sessions (in English) between 9am and 1pm. Deadline for application is until Saturday (July 27).
While a lab fee costs QR1,500, QM noted that Culture Pass members can avail of a 10% discount.
Lab mentor is Marcus Zaiser, who has been working in the world of movies since 1998. He took part in over 100 productions. From 2000 until 2006, Marcus studied Film and Media with a focus on Cinematography at the German film school Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg.
QM is also partnering with Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) in Education City for the ‘2019 Summer Art and Design’ programme for children and high school students.
From July 30 to August 1, participants (of various age groups) can either learn new or enhance their skills in a number of computer programs such as Adobe Illustrator and imotion: Animate Papercut Silhouettes (for ages 14 and above).
“The class will first create diverse paper cut silhouettes, then translate them into digital vector shapes, and finally animate them using the imotion app,” QM said. Fee is QR700.
From July 28 to August 1, VCUarts Qatar is holding the Little Makers – Desert Rose course for aged 8 to 12. It aims to enrich students’ creative thinking and their crafty skills, as well as expand their knowledge about the Desert Rose.
“The students will be making decorative objects and desk tools out of paper, serving the theme of the desert rose after going on a trip to the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) where they will get their inspiration from,” VCUarts Qatar said on its website. “They also get to learn a bit about the beautiful rocks found in the desert of Qatar.”
Culture Pass members will also have the opportunity to discover Qatar’s rich history and heritage through a tour on Saturday (July 27) from 10am to 12.30pm at the NMoQ led by its Archaeology and Early History curator, Dr Alexandrine Guerin. Location is at the museum’s Gallery 3.
Under NMoQ’s Athar programme, QM said it is opening a window into the past, giving participants the chance “to see for themselves the different human installations through the architecture and the objects discovered: flint, ceramics, bronze, and ivory, among others.”
“As we dig deeper, we discover the history of Qatar and the mysteries that lie behind it, in front of the flourishing modern society we know today. Researchers found artifacts such as flint to prove that people lived in this area from the paleolithic period 40,000 BCE,” QM said. “It is the oldest evidence of human life within the borders of what is now the State of Qatar.”
“Exhibitions, interactive exhibitions, artifacts, models and tomb reconstructions will bring to life different periods, from the Paleolithic to the modern era,” QM added. “These sites and artifacts connect the different territories between sea and desert and reveal ancient civilisations.”
