Christina Lindholm, Interview
By Haupt & Binder

Haupt & Binder: What would you call the basic idea or main goal of the VCUQ?

Christina Lindholm: The VCUQ prepares young women for the profession of designer. The school teaches them how to solve problems in a manner important for this region; how to develop a language and culture for design, a vocabulary and a library of signs based on the culture and history found here, and how to communicate with the people of this region. For me, that’s of the utmost importance, since these students shouldn’t simple have western ideologies and practices forced upon them. What we hope to do is convey to them different abilities and methods, so that their talents and fantasies can unfold in their own ways.

This is a great challenge inasmuch as design, as an industrial branch, doesn’t properly exist here. Up into the 1950s, Qatar was the poorest of the Arab nations, and it was hard to survive at all here. The people lived from diving for pearls or caring for livestock on a small scale. But since the discoveries of natural gas and oil, there’s a lot of capital here. Now people invest in a land born practically from nothing, and which changes from day to day. The contribution to the land’s infrastructure which the young women at our school will be able to offer will be an enduring legacy for generations to come. And that also brings with it consequences for the contemporary arts, since even though the majority of the students have chosen to follow the path of design, many also decide to go the route of the "independent" arts.

H&B: Most of the teaching staff at the VCUQ comes from USA. Isn’t it difficult to concentrate largely on method and put aside one’s own cultural background?

CL: At the VCUQ, like at universities in USA, a great deal relies on process. What’s greatly emphasized here is the process in itself – almost more than the product. And that means the adjustment isn’t as hard as you might think. Of course many people have their own ideas about how a result should look; but most of the people at the VCUQ focus on the process as such.

H&B: In general, students at the VCUQ enroll when they’re very young, when they’re 17 or 18. Do they already have an idea of the profession that the course of study is preparing them for?

CL: No, certainly not. But they know they want to do something creative, and they also know what’s taught at this school. During the recruiting phase, we offer detailed information on the educational program and profiles of all the possible professions. But even during the first-year foundation course, they still don’t really have a clear idea of what design is really about. That changes, of course, the closer they come to end of their studies. By then – through well-structured projects – they acquire the knowledge and expertise needed for their profession duties.

H&B: Does the school also teach the so-called professional ethics of the field?

CL: Yes. There’s a course required for all students focused on the business and design ethic in various fields. It’s an interesting topic, since what we do or don’t consider representative of ethics in USA can have totally different nuances here. That’s why we consider every aspect of this topic, and study it in relationship to the ethical principles found here.

H&B: How are new staff members prepared before they begin teaching at the VCU in Qatar?

CL: No sooner we know that we‘re receiving a new staff member, we begin with discussions and giving advice, supported by a large amount of information material; and many new staff members first pay us a visit here in Qatar. Before the work begins, new staff members go through a two-week orientation course. We also try to bring them together with colleagues who have already been here a while, and who can be supportive for newcomers during the adjustment phase.

H&B: Is there any special preparation regarding the history and culture of Qatar, and the Arab world?

CL: Yes. The new teaching staff receives information on the land and its culture, and we suggest relevant books and websites. Over the course of discussions, we explain the form of behavior here, and how interacting with students here differs from interacting with students in USA. For example, in USA, a teacher can more or less dress as she likes, while here her clothing has to be more reserved and her behavior calmer and more collected. As far as security goes, we don’t feel at all worried; Qatar is really safe for us. We only have to be on our guard not to offend the people in Qatar with a too casual, American way of behaving.

H&B: Have you considered employing local professionals at the VCUQ in the future? Might the students later be in the position to teach at the school themselves?

CL: Yes, that’s one of our goals. But our graduates should first gain professional experience as designers like almost everyone in the teaching body; most of them have worked professionally in the field. After that, they can complete different graduate programs and – if they care to – come to us as teaching staff. The great advantage being that they already know the educational system at the VCUQ, and that, through their continued education and professional experience, they can bring something new and lively to the teaching experience.

H&B: But doesn’t that mean, in order to continue their education they would have to go abroad?

CL: Most likely. Some of them will certainly have the chance to. Over the next years, we also hope to offer a graduate-level program for graphic design and interior design.

H&B: The study period at the VCUQ lasts 4 years and begins, presumably, with a foundation course. At what point does specializing in a specific discipline begin?

CL: In the second year. During the first year, everyone has the same courses: color theory, perspective, drawing, two-dimensional design, three-dimensional design, conceptual theory – the whole program usually found everywhere, during the foundation course at art schools. Afterwards, the students have to decide what to major in – whether in graphic design, interior design, or fashion. They still have a few shared courses meant to familiarize students with different media. But the programs that students major in are very specific.

H&B: What professional chances do students have after they graduate? Of course, the first question is a different one: considering the traditional role of women in this country, how many of them actually pursue a career as a professional designer?

CL: That’s an important point. From the start, many of them don’t want to work, but many do. And as women students, they aren’t under any financial pressure; they don’t have to necessarily earn money. In this culture, most of them marry at a young age and have children. But I’d say that those who want to work really do find jobs after they graduate. Maybe some of them even start their own firm or agency.

Alongside managing the study program, we try to make Doha an attractive business location for companies that offer or need services in the area of design, and for whom our graduates might work or receive further training. What we’ve done here, for example, is arrange for a branch of Fitch International, a large concern for advertising and marketing, to be located in a office on the grounds of the VCUQ and work together with our graduates for the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha. That’s really exciting. Normally, students never have the chance to participate in a project on such a grand scale no sooner they graduate.

Haupt & Binder
Gerhard Haupt and Pat Binder. Publishers of Universes in Universe - Worlds of Art; co-publishers and editors-in-chief of Nafas Art Magazine. Based in Berlin, Germany.

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