Songs of Childhood: Student Tribute to Qatar’s Oral Traditions
At the VCUarts Qatar final year show, Art & Design Now ongoing at M7 in Msheireb, Art History student Fatima Al Moftah, preserves melodies of childhood and oral traditions through a vibrant sensory journey.
At the VCUarts Qatar final year show, excitement filled the air, but there was one group that stood out — a collective of students and faculty from the Art History department, participating for the very first time. Their projects were not just displays; they were acts of cultural preservation, storytelling, and deep inquiry into the histories and identities that shape the region. Among these was Childhood Melodies, a heartfelt project by Fatima Al Moftah that captured the imagination of many.
Exploring Culture Through Immersive Research
In the course “Art and Ethnography,” taught by Neelima Jeychandran, Art History seniors at VCUarts Qatar engaged in hands-on ethnographic research, employing methods such as participant observation, interviews, videography, sound recording, and community collaboration. Through these approaches, they investigated the layered meanings of arts and expressive cultures within local and global contexts.
“For the first time, the Art History seniors are presenting their work at the VCUarts Qatar BA/BFA/MFA exhibition. Using multimodal presentations—including images, media, and installations—they reveal the visible and invisible forces that shape artistic practices and cultural life in this region. Their work offers fresh, research-driven perspectives that connect art to lived experiences and evolving cultural narratives,” explained Neelima about the exhibits.
Fatima Al Moftah set out to explore the rich, often overlooked world of children’s songs passed down through generations in Qatar and the Gulf.
These oral traditions — sung during playtimes, even as lullabies, woven into daily life — hold profound cultural value yet remain largely absent from formal archives and museum spaces.
“What initially inspired me was an interest in intangible heritage,” shared Fatima, “Especially those forms passed down by women and children. It’s a space of memory, imagination, and community that isn’t often formally recorded.”
The project’s pivotal moment came during fieldwork, where intergenerational interviews with families and school children revealed how these melodies have evolved, some fading, some enduring, all reshaped by time. “Observing how children engaged with these melodies today, compared with how they were recalled by older generations, revealed fascinating intergenerational continuities and differences,” observed Fatima.
This gap in cultural preservation highlighted the urgency of the student’s mission: to capture and honour these ephemeral traditions before they slip away.
While the project began as an ethnographic inquiry, the journey of creation shifted toward something more personal and artistic. “Initially, I thought of producing a research-based publication or even creating mosaic panels,” said Fatima. “But I eventually realized that oil paintings could evoke the feeling and memory of these melodies in a much more visceral way.”
The Exhibits Interact with the Viewers
The result was a collection of four evocative oil paintings that served not as literal illustrations, but as emotional, imaginative translations of the melodies. To bring the melodies to life, the installation included bilingual lyric cards embedded with QR codes, allowing visitors to hear the songs and experience them beyond the visual plane.
“Oil painting allowed me to capture gestures of play and movement, layering brushwork and colour to reflect the transient nature of memory,” said Fatima. “And integrating audio was essential—I wanted people to hear the melodies, to feel them as I had.”
“Integrating audio through the lyric cards allowed me to extend the exhibition beyond just the visuals. Visitors could engage with the work both aurally and textually. This multi-sensory engagement reflects the context in how these melodies were transmitted: as lived, participatory experiences within homes, playgrounds, and communities,” shared Fatima.
Yet, representing sound and memory within a gallery space presented a unique challenge. How do you make the invisible visible? How do you translate oral traditions into a compelling, spatial experience? Navigating these questions pushed the student to experiment with multi-sensory storytelling.
The ultimate reward came in the form of audience reactions. “Seeing people across generations singing along to melodies they hadn’t heard in years was incredibly moving,” the student recalled. “Those moments of connection made all the struggles and last-minute changes completely worth it.”
The project not only showcased the power of art as a tool for cultural preservation but also shaped the student’s future trajectory.
“I now see myself working at the intersection of ethnography, visual storytelling, and curatorial practice,” Fatima reflected, “This experience has shown me the importance of creating spaces where community voices and intangible heritage can be preserved, celebrated, and shared.”
Childhood Melodies is more than a final year project — it is a living archive of oral traditions, and perhaps the only one that is a celebration of sound, memory, and the playful, enduring spirit of childhood.
