YEAR TWO 2004 – 2005

Year two marked a transitional stage, moving the student cohort from working in the relative isolation of the college to the wider range of opportunities offered by the university environment. Throughout this year, the students continued to follow a common program of courses, as they further developed and applied skills in a range of studio disciplines. All students took two levels of English composition courses, reinforcing previous learning and improving their abilities to construct academic essays and to develop persuasive arguments. Through the global studies courses, issues shaping identity in the context of the family, culture and society were considered, in addition to the exploration of global issues facing societies in the twenty-first century.

An increasing emphasis was placed on student participation in the learning process throughout the year, with regular studio critiques being held and formal presentations being an integral component of the assessment process for theoretical courses. In addition, a greater emphasis was placed on the use of technology, with students being encouraged to see the creative potential of these tools through both the basic graphic design and the digital video courses.

In addition to formal classes, all students traveled to Madrid and Barcelona in April, 2005, to visit a number of world-renowned galleries and museums in order to see the works of modern and contemporary artists, and to visit the Fine Art department at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. This study visit formed the research basis for an individual studio project undertaken by students on their return.

The students continued to present their work in the public arena through competitions and exhibitions. A number of students submitted photographs for a competition and exhibition of architectural photography held at Mercato Mall, Photographer’s Perspective on Design, winning prizes in both the analogue and digital categories. All students participated in an exhibition of paintings held at Knowledge Village in April 2005 and a group exhibition was held at the end of the academic year in the Latifa College campus.

Several students chose to participate in a student design competition organized and sponsored by the Austrian crystal manufacturer, Swarovski, for which they produced textile ideas specifically aimed at the local traditional market. A number of students also submitted designs for the competition to design colored glass windows for the new Zayed University campus at Al Ruwayyah, the winning designs, created by Alia Bin Drai and Amna Al Madani, being installed in the campus when it opened in Fall 2006.

The students received a number of commissions during the second part of the academic year. They worked in teams to create a series of newspaper sculptures commissioned by the Arab Journalism Awards to be placed in the reception area at the awards gala ceremony. Emirates Bank, having previously commissioned the students to paint a camel as part of the Camel Caravan public art project, asked them to create a horse to represent the bank for the Celebration of the Arabian Horse, the second part of the Desert Trilogy. This led to two further commissions as part of the Arabian Horse project, one for A-1 motor racing and the second a personal commission from HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.