VIRTUAL Prague Research & Teaching Conference
Abstract
Kitchen Comics” is an interdisciplinary course exploring art, design, and intangible cultural heritage through culinary traditions. Offered to 17 students, the course provided a platform to document and visualize the evolving heritage of the contemporary Qatari kitchen. By integrating the history of spices, oral narratives, and cooking practices, students employed sequential narratives to capture living history. The course merged art and design methods with ethnographic research, reimagining the kitchen as a space of cultural exchange and memory. Students explored spices as both tangible artifacts and metaphorical storytelling tools, tracing their cultural and historical significance to understand their role in shaping Qatari culinary identity. Collaborative and participatory learning defined the course, with students conducting research, participating in site visits, and presenting ideas. The semester culminated in a public exhibition at Liwan Design Studios, highlighting the interplay between tradition and modernity in the Qatari kitchen. Projects documented the changing culture of the Qatari kitchen through oral histories from family members, combined with personal experiences. Everyday cooking practices were reimagined through comics and visual storytelling, bridging the gap between ephemeral oral traditions and lasting visual documentation. A major achievement was Qatar National Library’s acquisition of the students’ works for their national archives, recognizing their value in documenting contemporary cultural practices and supporting heritage preservation. “Kitchen Comics” exemplifies the integration of creative practice and cultural research. By focusing on the kitchen as a microcosm of societal transformation, the course underscores the power of creative practice in exploring and documenting living history.
Astrid is an Associate Professor and the Chair of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University of the Arts in Qatar where she leads the (IN)>Tangible Lab, a multidisciplinary research cluster that activates Qatar’s Intangible Cultural Heritage through art & design.
Leland Hill is Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University of the Arts in Qatar where he leads the Comics Lab, overseeing the production of comic and sequential art in the region by fusing the creative production of the artwork with the academic interests of the VCUarts Qatar.
Natasha Fernades, a recent graduate of VCUarts Qatar Graphic Design, designed and curated the student show for Liwan Design Studios and currently works for Qatar Museums.