Living Heritage Installation

Public Realm Pop-up exhibition + talk

YOU&ME in collaboration with Qatari architects Fatima Fawzy and Alaa Larri designed and organised a one-day pop-up exhibition event and lecture series, transforming an existing courtyard space in the run-down Al Najada area of Old Doha. The ‘Living Heritage’ event was a successful interactive and inclusive event which addressed a wide range of audiences and created a precedent of grass root bottom-up regeneration in Doha, promoting the value of heritage, culture and education in architecture.

The courtyard space, an enlarged sikkah, became a social point of gathering for one day, using a temporary canopy of 100 traditional straw weave eating mats. The mats were hung from a metal frame structure and on the ground plane 10 colourful recycled cable reel tables became plinths for the exhibits, creating a domestic environment on the street.

The exhibition showcased work by artists Ben Barbour, Aparna Jayakumar, Zoe Schoenherr, Ayaz Abdur Rauf and Habeeb Abu-Futtaim. The speakers were Dr Essam Ismail and Dr Robert Carter.

The project was supported by the British Council, Arts Council, Doha Architecture Forum and Qatar Museums.

For more details about the process click here.