Director of Kinetic Imaging VCUarts Qatar

  • Type: job
  • Location: Doha Qatar VCUarts Qatar: VCUarts Qatar is the international branch campus of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts (VCUarts). Located in Richmond, Virginia, VCUarts (www.arts.vcu.edu) is the top-ranked public art school in the U.S. VCUarts Qatar was established in 1998 through a partnership with the Qatar Foundation and offers students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting & printmaking; a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history; and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design. It is currently in the process of establishing a BFA in Kinetic Imaging program. Located in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, VCUarts Qatar is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art & Design, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. The current student body represents a diverse range of nationalities with students coming from 34 countries. VCUarts Qatar is dedicated to global outreach and education and provides students with an environment for cross-cultural exchange that fosters inquiry, discovery and innovation. Examples of this mission are the two significant international conferences hosted by VCUarts Qatar—the biennial design conference, Tasmeem and the biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art. VCUarts Qatar attracts globally recognized designers, artists and scholars while fostering partnerships within the region, and beyond, that enhance the educational, economic and cultural vitality of Qatar. Having established itself as a center of excellence for education and research, VCUarts Qatar has substantial involvement with the influential art and design world of the Middle East, and is a catalyst for the growth and development of these fields in the region. VCUarts Qatar has over 120 full-time faculty and staff and a student body of over 300 students. VCUarts Qatar was the first campus established in Education City, a unique 2500-acre multiversity campus. VCUarts Qatar was joined by Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Carnegie-Mellon University, Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Northwestern University, and HEC Paris. Qatar, with English as the standard second language, is a progressive country in the Arabian Gulf and remains one of the healthiest economies in the Gulf region. Doha offers all the conveniences found in a contemporary and cosmopolitan city, while honoring a rich tradition that is evident in the old markets and the city’s Islamic Arab architecture. Al-Wakrah Stadium, a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, designed by the defunct deconstructivist architect Zaha Hadid was inaugurated in 2021. The National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel, opened in March 2019 while the Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M.Pei opened in November 2008 and the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf) opened in 2010. The U.S. Embassy considers Qatar among the safest countries in the world for Americans.
  • Deadline: Nov 17 2023 at 12:00PM
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VCUarts Qatar is excited to announce an opportunity for an impactful, engaged, and collaboration-oriented academic leader and creative scholar to serve as the inaugural Director of the BFA in Kinetic Imaging program. This opportunity is a temporary 18-month term faculty appointment, during which the inaugural Director will provide strategic leadership in the establishment of a dynamic, exploratory, interdisciplinary studio-based environment for new media arts practices. The inaugural Director will work in collaboration with leaders, faculty, and colleagues on programmatic, curricular, student-centered, and administrative issues designed to advance the new program in support of the mission and goals of VCUarts Qatar.


The BFA program is designed to empower students with the skills and knowledge required to excel in the dynamic and continually evolving domains of Kinetic Imaging, encompassing video, animation, sound, computational creative practices, 2D and 3D computer art and design, as well as interaction and game design, among other creative disciplines. The curriculum for this program is adapted from the BFA in Kinetic Imaging degree program offered to students in the School of the Arts at the main campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. VCUarts Qatar, a branch campus located in Doha, extends this program to its students, with an additional concentration in interaction and game design.


It is expected that a competitive international search will be conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year with the goal of identifying a permanent Director for the Kinetic Imaging program to start in July 2025. The inaugural Director will be eligible to apply for the permanent opportunity when it is announced. 


There are generous benefits associated with the temporary 18-month inaugural Director appointment:





 Competitive international salary

Tax protection for U.S. Taxpayers

30% Off-shore supplement

Medical Insurance (100% employer funded premium and employer cost shared options available)

Fully furnished villa or apartment including wireless internet

Annual travel allowance to home of record (to include a spouse and dependents relocated to Qatar) 

Monthly transportation allowance 

Educational reimbursement for up to 4 dependent children enrolled in an accredited K-12 program 

International Professional Development and Research Opportunities