Tasmeem: An inauguration through “Hybrid Making”

On behalf of the editorial board, we are proud to present the inaugural issue of the Tasmeem journal. This first issue is the result of a collaboration between Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals and Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar that began over two years ago. Although it has taken longer than anyone has expected to produce the first issue, with a redesign in the concept before the initial publication, we hope that it demonstrates a crucial look at art and design from the perspective of not only academics, but also practitioners. This first issue is a collection of selected papers and exhibitions from the Tasmeem conference, held in Doha, Qatar during the spring of 2014. “Hybrid Making”, the theme of the conference, and subsequently this issue, is somewhat nebulous to define exactly. The conference program quoted the architect Juhani Pallasmaa to give context to the theme: “We need to understand that in our own work, whether drawing, carving, modeling, designing or writing, we are engaged in these processes as complete embodied beings with our memories, desires and dreams, not only as intellectual and rational beings.” In one sense, “Hybrid Making” can be defined by how it is often illogical or accidental. It is a collection of various elements that are brought together through processes that often have no specific preconceived or defined outcomes. Within this issue, a good example of this would be the historical collision of politics, religion, art, and mathematics that led to development of linear perspective, as described by Jorge Benitez in his article “Geometric Aljamia, a Visual Translation”. Benitez surmises that although linear perspective is seen as a product of western aesthetic development (and later even colonialism and repression), it was actually a product of hybrid cultures and learning. Clare Melhuish provides another analysis of design hybridity by analyzing the renderings produced when proposing architectural developments. In her article “Architectural Atmospheres: Affect and Agency of Mobile Digital Images in the Material Transformation of the Urban Landscape in Doha,” Melhuish analyzes the development of computer-generated 3D renderings of the Msheireb development project in Doha to argue that they should not be seen as simple images of proposed architecture, but as carefully crafted artifacts with substance and agency. Another example is how designers’ shared use of ideas are influenced by politics, resources and culture as described by Paolo Cardini in “Open Design: A Natural Habitat.” The article analyizes the concept of “open design” as understood and utilized by designers in Cuba, New York City and Doha. Other examples include Danielle Emans and Adina Hempel’s case study of design education in “Hybrid Learning for Social Design,” and Debora Hanson’s analysis of the hybrid role Orientialism plays within the context of the Middle East in her article “Orientialism Today: Revisions and Remaking.” In keeping with Tasmeem’s mission of providing a voice for art and design practitioners as well as authors, we are happy to showcase our “Exhibition” section that presents research being done using visual media. The debut of this section includes images of the work resulting from the workshops conducted during the Tasmeem conference. A jury of conference organizers selected the included pieces as examples of the embodiment of the conference theme. In the workshop “The Material is the