NU-Q’s museum on media holds first event, plans dedication for May

Northwestern University in Qatar’s (NU-Q) museum – the Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar – will host its first program in collaboration with UCL Qatar.

“New Media + New Museum: Communication and Storytelling” will be a panel discussion on the evolving uses of new media in exhibitions and storytelling in museums.

Housed in NU-Q’s building, the Media Majlis will host biannual exhibitions, weekly programs, and other events that encourage the exploration, discussion, and interrogation of media, journalism, and communication through global, regional, and local lenses. Its first exhibition, Arab Identities, images in film, will explore the deep and complicated meanings of identity in film, as well as the ideas and connections that influence people’s understanding of that theme.

“The Media Majlis, the first university museum in Qatar, is part of the Qatar Foundation’s vision to bring exceptional education and cultural experiences to Qatar,” Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO at NU-Q. “The museum’s interdisciplinary capacity makes it a destination for international visitors, residents, and local citizens as well as students, scholars, and media professionals interested in exploring the Arab World through a pedagogical lens.”

In the lead-up to the opening, the museum is launching a series of weekly programs that build upon the discussions in the upcoming exhibition.  

The first program on March 12 will be moderated by Nancy Proctor, director of the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, along with three technology, film and exhibition experts. Among the topics up for debate will be technological advancements aimed at increasing engagement with and between visitors, the emergence of AR and VR in storytelling, and the uses of media in creating empathy and immersive environments. 

“We are very happy to collaborate with NU-Q’s the Media Majlis, the first university museum in Qatar, for its first event,” said Alexandra Bounia, senior lecturer and course coordinator at UCL Qatar. She added, “Having new media and museums at the core of our teaching in the Museums and Galleries Program, we believe that close collaboration with a media museum is exactly what will inspire our students and will help them to connect theory and practice. In addition, this is a collaboration that will foster the development of closer connection among institutions in Qatar, both inside and outside the Education City.”

“Our programs are extensions of our exhibitions, delving into and discussing aspects of public interest,” said Pamela Erskine-Loftus, director of the museum. “They serve as a great introduction to the forthcoming exhibition Arab Identities, images in film, whose accompanying publication is available in the NU-Q Bookstore.” 

Future events will address censorship and distribution, Arab female representation in film and in the industry, as well as the screening of a number of award-winning films including Divine Intervention, a 2002 Jury Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival; and the premiere of The Day I Lost My Shadow, introduced by the film’s director Soudade Kaadan, a recent winner of the 2019 Grand Jury Prize for short films at Sundance.

The spring schedule of events for the museum’s first exhibition - Arab identities, images in film:

Learn more about the museum and its programs and get tickets for upcoming events here.