As part of the public programme aligned with Art Jameel’s exhibition with the V&A Museum ‘Jameel Prize: Moving Images’, Hayy Jameel presents a workshop with Jameel Prize finalist and artist Jawa El-Khash.

Uploading Memory is a three-day introductory workshop that guides participants through the creation of immersive 3D environments using the Unity gaming engine. The workshop is designed for beginners across creative disciplines who are interested in exploring 3D world-building as a storytelling medium.

Theme
The program will aim to articulate the intimacy of distant memories by extracting personal fragments and translating them into objects.

Memories are rarely complete, they persist as sensations, impressions, or partial recollections. This workshop invites participants to reflect on these memories and transform them into tangible forms, exploring the tension between the ephemeral nature of memory and the material presence of the object.

• What is the fragment of memory that resonates with you the most and why?
• How can materials reflect the nature of memory—its fragility, weight, texture, or impermanence?
• How do form, scale, and process communicate emotion and narrative?
• How might experimentation with traditional and digital fabrication expand your expression?

Application:
Registration is through an application link. You will receive an email to confirm your attendance.

Apply through link here!
*Limited seats available

Jawa El-Khash

Syrian artist Jawa El Khash is fascinated by the freedom of digital world-building, speculative futures and the potential of virtual heritage preservation. Made using virtual reality and 3D simulation software, The Upper Side of the Sky is an interactive virtual environment designed around Syrian archaeology and nature. The project was inspired by the artist’s experience of growing up in Damascus, Syria, and her memories of visiting the ancient ruins of Palmyra. The Upper Side of the Sky is structured around Palmyrene architecture – arcades, courtyard and temples – animated with examples of Syrian ecology, such as apple and olive trees, wheat, corn and jasmine.

The violence of Syria’s ongoing civil war, which started in 2011, endangers local ecosystems and has led to the destruction of historic architecture. In El Khash’s work, the virtual realm offers an opportunity for the preservation and re-animation of threatened heritage, tangible and intangible. The serene site serves to celebrate Syria’s rich history and the centuries that Palmyra has witnessed and survived.