Dar Al-Hekma grads inspire through graphic design show

Dar Al-Hekma opened its biannual two-day Visual Communication Exhibition yesterday, showing the work of 49 graduate students of the Visual Communication Program.
Minister of Culture and Information Abdulaziz Khoja, President of Dar Al-Hekma Suhair Al-Qurashi, program director Cordula Peters, diplomats and other guests were present at the event.
Governed by the exhibition’s theme “Vision,” the students aimed at inspiring people to perceive their own surroundings through the eyes of others — thus evoking a whole new experience.
“The students’ creative and rich thoughts exhibited here reflect the quality of the education at Dar Al-Hekma. This higher education institution has formulated a clear vision for its students and graduates, and that is one of the core competencies that educational institutions should aim for. Contrary to the traditional method, that is rote learning, Dar Al-Hekma asks its students to reflect upon what they’ve studied. The results of that are what I’ve seen in this exhibition tonight,” said Khoja.
Al-Qurashi extolled the tremendous efforts of her students. She said she knows senior students are the avant-gardes in the field of design.
“I’m proud to witness the results of their hard work over these years and a.m. excited about the opportunities awaiting them,” she added.
With 49 participating students, this year’s senior exhibition is the program’s largest graphic design exhibition to date, said Cordula Peters.
“This demonstrates the growth of the program. After four demanding years here at Dar Al-Hekma, these graphic design students are now prepared to go out and show the world that they are ready to take their place amongst other creatives here and abroad,” she said. Sebastien Lafragette, French cultural attaché, admired the work of students and said he was very impressed with the creativity in this exhibition.
“Themes like the environment, women’s rights and intellectual property are very interesting and say a lot about world in general and this country in particular. The works give a very strong message,” he said.
Ebrahim Edries, the South African consul general, also said that he was very much impressed with the excellent work by Dar Al-Hekma College and the credit goes to the staff, to bring out the creativity of the students. “The work displayed here really showed the immense talent of the Saudis, that if used properly can benefit Saudi society at large,” he added.