Manama: More than 100 students from Qatar’s independent schools on Thursday completed a series of creative workshops designed to connect them with artworks in the museums.
The weeklong programme, designed by the Supreme Education Council (SEC) and Qatar Museums Authority (QMA), also aims to encourage visual literacy and creative expression through teamwork.
The activities, created by Mathaf Education and the Museum of Islamic Art’s Education Centre, are part of SEC’s newly developed art curriculum, currently piloted within grades three and four at five independent schools.
“The new curriculum is unique because it allows students to be creative through engaging with arts and artistic spaces,” Haya Al Kuwari, Director of the Education Institute in SEC, said. “The participation of a key cultural institution such as the QMA in the development and implementation of syllabi ensures that the programme is not only educational but stimulating and entertaining.”
Throughout the programme students have been introduced to several pieces of art within Mathaf.
They viewed two historic carved wooden doors from Cairo dating back to the Mamluk period, which represent examples of geometric design and craftsmanship.
Students then applied their knowledge of how these doors were made to construct eight-pointed stars using basic mathematical tools and concepts. They also learnt how to write their own names using the historical Ruq’ah script, the last style of calligraphy to be developed in the Ottoman court.
Students were later encouraged to show their own works of arts inspired by those seen and studied throughout the week.
The works will be displayed in a student exhibition in Mathaf’s garden and students will be recognised by officials from SEC and QMA and awarded certificates.
