Doha, Qatar: Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar’s (VCUarts Qatar), a QF partner university, is set to host the second edition of Artweek 2026: Community as Practice on its campus from February 1 to 3, 2026.
The three-day programme brings together artists, educators, students, and cultural practitioners to examine how communities are formed through shared practice, learning, and exchange. Programming includes workshops, lecture-performances, panel discussions, and studio-based engagements open to the public.
“As a higher education institution, VCUarts Qatar recognises the integral role of community as a foundational condition of how learning, making, and knowledge production happen,” said Amir Berbić, Dean of VCUarts Qatar.
“Artweek 2026 reflects our role as a convener, bringing people together into shared dialogue and supporting the connections that deepen artistic and educational practice.”
Organised by the Department of Painting + Printmaking (PAPR), Artweek 2026 invites participants into the studio as both a site of making and a space of exchange that reflect how artists actually work today.
“Artweek is not about observing from the sidelines,” explained Dr. Aissa Deebi, Director of PAPR. “It’s an invitation into the studio to engage with artists and educators who are actively shaping the future of art practice and education.”
The programme opens on February 1 with a keynote by Ong Keng Sen, founder of TheatreWorks Singapore and former artistic director of the Singapore International Festival of Arts, and concludes on February 3 with a keynote by Sara Niroobakhsh, an artist and educator whose practice engages pedagogy as a form of artistic inquiry.
Artweek 2026 brings together many other voices from Doha, Richmond, Beirut, Cairo, and Karachi as well. International panelilsts include Mohammed Somji, Naiza Khan, Walid Sadek along with VCUarts Qatar and VCU Richmond faculty.
“The programme will create opportunities to learn from a spectrum of approaches and perspectives and to explore how institutions and independent initiatives support one another, Dr. Deebi said. “It will showcase how artists balance their intertwined roles of learner, maker, mentor, and community member and how art education can respond to shifting cultural, social, and technological contexts.”
