Liwan Craft Residency: Meet the Residents
Rooted in the framework of Future Traditions & the New Authentic, the residency explored how craft, heritage, and cultural practices can be reinterpreted through contemporary design.
Residency Lead: Asma Derouiche
Designers: Shawky Abdalla and Abdul Rahman Anwar, Saga Elkabbash, Joe Bouabboud, Stephen Amoyo, Charlotte Rodenberg and Varvara Guljajeva.
Abdul Rahman Anwar and Shawky Abdalla are multidisciplinary designers and MFA candidates at VCUarts Qatar. In 2024, Shawky Abdalla received the Cairo Design Awards in Jewelry Design through The Narrative Collective, a design initiative he founded. That same year, the duo co-curated Beneath the Rubble, Dreams Persist with Carnegie Mellon University Qatar. Abdul Rahman Anwar previously received the Faculty Exploratory Grant (2019–2020) for research on material culture and design education and curated exhibitions including Modern Prayer Rug (2017) and Soujud (2018). Their collaborative practice bridges material experimentation, sensory experience, and spirituality, exploring how materials and form can embody memory, ritual, and devotion.
Charlotte Rodenberg is an American multidisciplinary artist. Her recent exhibition highlights include the 2025 London Design Biennale and a 2025 solo exhibition at Bond Millen Gallery. In 2024, her work was presented at Qatar Museums’ Garage Gallery and in the 26th Annual International Exhibition at Woman Made Gallery, where she received the second-place award. Rodenberg has completed international residencies including the Fire Station Artist-in-Residence Program in Doha, Le Moulin à Nef in France, the International Künstlerhaus in Germany, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Jentel Program in the United States. She earned her MFA from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, in 2009.
Zainab AlShibani is a multidisciplinary Qatari artist based in Doha, Qatar. Her multidisciplinary practice is embedded in creating dream-like ideations of rituals, time and gender. The themes explored in her work are glimpses into her inner world of spiritual meditation, khaleeji folklore and Arab mythology. A graduate of VCUarts Qatar, she holds a BFA in graphic design with magna cum laude honours in 2021. During her studies, she was awarded the prestigious AEB Excellence Award. Following her graduation, Zainab expanded her artistic horizons through artist residencies, including the International Studio & Curatorial Programme (ISCP) in New York in 2022, and the 9-month Artist in Residence (AIR) programme at Fire Station Artist-in-Residence Program in Doha from 2023 to 2024 and the Akoje Art Residency in July 2025.
Amanda and Joe Bouabboud are Lebanese designers who met at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) while studying interior architecture and product design and have collaborated ever since. In 2025, they were named to the AD100 Middle East list. Their work has been exhibited at biennials and design festivals in Doha, Beirut, Dubai, Singapore, Paris, Amsterdam, and Milan, and has been shortlisted for the Design Doha Biennial and the AlUla Design Award. They have collaborated with institutions and brands including Hermès, Qatar Museums for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Qatar Foundation, and Ithra. After graduating in 2009, they taught at ALBA before relocating to Doha in 2021, where they established their studio exploring regional craft through contemporary design.
Saga Elkabbash is an interdisciplinary designer and maker based in Doha whose work bridges craft, digital fabrication, and spatial design. Her work has been exhibited internationally and regionally at venues including DesignArt Tokyo, Yuz Museum, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and M7 in Doha. Elkabbash earned an MFA in Design (2025) and a BFA in Interior Design (2019) from VCUarts Qatar. Since 2019, she has been part of the Digital Fabrication Studio at VCUarts Qatar, where she leads and supports projects integrating creative inquiry with technical processes. Her practice investigates how traditional craft methods can coexist with emerging technologies to shape new forms of making.
Stephen Amoyo is a Filipino multidisciplinary designer and creative practitioner based in Doha, Qatar. In 2025, he received the Isola Design Awards and participated in the Zwara Program for Furniture Design, developed in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum. A graduate of the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in Architecture, his work spans architecture, interior design, and furniture design. Rooted in Southeast Asian heritage, his practice explores themes of identity, migration, and material culture. With experience in cultural institutions, design residencies, and international collaborations, Amoyo approaches projects with a strong narrative foundation, meticulous attention to detail, and a deep respect for craft.
Varvara & Mar is an artist duo founded in 2009 by Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet Sola. Their work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; FACT Liverpool; and the Ars Electronica Center, Linz. They have presented research and creative projects at major international forums such as SIGGRAPH and ISEA, exploring the relationships between art, technology, and society through AI, robotics, interactivity, and public participation. Varvara Guljajeva is Associate Professor of Kinetic Imaging at VCUarts Qatar. Mar Canet Sola serves as a W2 substitute professor at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne and is a research fellow at Tallinn University and the Max Planck Institute, Berlin.
Asma Derouiche is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and creative entrepreneur based in Qatar. In 2024, she designed the installation Ripples of Hope for the opening exhibition of the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women at Qatar Foundation, and served as a workshop leader at Tasmeem Doha 2024. She previously curated the exhibition Synergy at Eiwan Al Gassar Gallery, exploring reinterpretations of regional craft traditions. Derouiche holds a Master of Fine Arts in Design from VCUarts Qatar. Her practice operates at the intersection of design, cultural production, and collaborative research, cultivating platforms where designers, artisans, and production environments converge.
Asma Derouiche is the lead curator of Liwan Craft Residency: Future Traditions and the New Authentic
2025–2026 Edition: Reimagining the Oasis – Our Design Ecosystem