From left: Seba Zarea, Lecturer at the Visual Communication; Dr. Suhair Qurashi, President of DAH College, Dr. Abdulaziz Khojah, Minister of Culture and Information; Cordula Peters, Visual Communication Program Director; and Dr. Karema Hussein, Assistant Professor at DAH College. — Courtesy photo Sana Abdul Salam Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Bearing the theme “Vision,” 49 graduating students from Dar Al-Hekma College's visual communication department showcased their graphic design talents through an exhibit held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The students' work aimed at inspiring others to perceive surrounding observations with a perception different from their own, in other words, with that of other individuals' perceptions – thus evoking a whole new experience for them. The exhibit was held under the patronage of Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, who was appreciative of the students' efforts. “The works here show creative and rich thoughts from the students' side, which shows that the college does not submit itself to rote learning, but asks its students to reflect upon what they have studied to let their own originality shine through. “I congratulate the college's dean and faculty for such an achievement, and am happy to have had the opportunity to inaugurate this exhibition,” said Khoja. Eyad Maghazil, co-founder and film director at UTURN entertainment and a visitor at the exhibit, said: “As a film director, I'm interested in the moving image courses, which focus on animation and video, offered at Dar Al-Hekma. I can see from the exhibition that the students have produced very high quality in this area considering that they take only one such course throughout their five-year program.” Maghazil added that he would like to see more courses related to videography at the college. Cordula Peters, director of the visual communication program, said: “With 49 participating students, this year's senior exhibition is the program's largest graphic design exhibition to date. This is very exciting for us and demonstrates the growth of the program. “These students are now prepared to go out and show the world that they are ready to take their place amongst other creative professionals here as well as abroad. We are very proud of our students and their achievements. If they succeed in the industry, we know we did a good job.” Speaking of her aspirations, Najla Kamel, a student participating in the exhibition, said: “I became inspired by Arabic calligraphy with vintage typography, and I wish to be an artist and work as an art director in the field of Arabic typography.” Suhair Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma, commended the tremendous efforts of the students. She said: “With finely honed talents displayed, I know these senior students are the avant-garde in the field of design. I'm proud to witness the results of their hard work over these years and excited about the opportunities awaiting them.” Special guests at the event were British Consul General Mohammed Shokat, British Deputy Consul General Michael Cockle, Pakistani Consul General Aftab Khokher, and Italian Consul General Simone Petroni, along with German Cultural Attaché, US Cultural Attaché, French Cultural Attaché, and representatives from the visual communication industry. The two-day event was sponsored by different companies such as Paul, IssaBinladen, Ports Projects Management & Development Company (PMDC), Signature, Jeddah Links, Design Magazine, and Mix FM.
