Amplifying voices from the UAE: AUS multimedia designers showcase creativity at Ars Electronica

From designing an immersive fantastical world for cultural exchange, questioning the role of AI and technology in our everyday lives to visualizing Palestinian displacement, students and alumni from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) have been making waves in international exhibitions.

In its second year at the Ars Electronica Campus Exhibition, which was held in Austria September 4-8, AUS returned with four multimedia students and alumni, presenting their augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and animation projects under the theme “Hope—who will turn the tide.” AUS students and alumni once again demonstrated the innovative spirit of young creatives from the UAE, exhibiting alongside students from 42 universities such as NYU and SVA from New York, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and many other leading art, design and technology universities worldwide.

The exhibition theme inspired alumna Yomna Badr, with the supervision of art and design faculty Dr. Zinka Bejtic, Ali Matay and Zlatan Filipovic, to participate with her graduation project, Skyborne House of Wisdom, which explored the potential of cultural and intellectual revival.

“The development of the Skyborne House of Wisdom began with drawing parallels between the East and West, focusing on the contributions of the East during the scientific revolution. Research into historical advancements and cultural aesthetics from both regions shaped the design of a fantastical VR world. The project involved creating an immersive environment and a compelling narrative that highlights cultural exchange. Through prototyping and testing, the VR experience was refined, ensuring seamless interactions and an engaging final production,” explained Badr.

Working with VR was a transformative experience for Badr, who pointed out that this was her first major project using this technology.

“Designing a world that blends fantasy with historical realities required a new level of attention to detail in creating environments, crafting interactions and ensuring natural narrative flow. It was challenging but incredibly rewarding to see how technology could bring the story to life in a way that traditional media couldn’t,” she said.

While Badr was unable to attend Ars Electronica because of visa limitation, her project was well-presented at the exhibition with the help of fellow multimedia alumna Sahar Baniabbasi, who was also there to exhibit her animation work, I Herself.

In a critique of the dependency on AI technology in contemporary living, Baniabbasi decided to adopt a more classical approach to her work.

“My project is a 2D frame-by-frame animation questioning the role of AI and technology in our everyday lives. I've been seeing a lot of people use or completely depend on AI for their daily tasks as well as their creative work. It made me wonder just how much of ourselves we are willing to surrender to the machine. I ended up hand drawing everything frame-by-frame, 24 frames per second. I also went for a sketchier style,” she said.

Baniabbasi was joined in Ars Electronica by student Hend AlShamsi, who produced an augmented reality (AR) experience, On this Land, visualizing Palestinian displacement through four distinct stages. What started as a solo endeavor for AlShamsi evolved into a collaboration with her classmate, Jenine AlHamaydeh. 

“I truly appreciated having her as a partner," said AlShamsi. “Her perspective, especially as a Palestinian, added depth and authenticity to the project. I'm grateful for the experience of working together."

AlShamsi said that she was inspired by the powerful role designers play in shaping societal narratives and how their choices have the potential to drive significant change.

“For this project, I aimed to use the AR experience to not only raise awareness but also to inspire hope and encourage positive action regarding the situation in Palestine. I was inspired by designer and educator Dr. Danah Abdulla, who discussed the lack of a formal code of ethics in design despite its significant potential to impact society. This insight resonated deeply with me, especially given the context of current conflicts. It made me realize that as a designer, I have the power to address and highlight pressing issues. I structured the project like a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end. The beginning was intentionally ambiguous and devoid of Palestinian symbols. The ending, on the other hand, was crafted to point towards hope for the future,” said AlShamsi.  

The CAAD experience has been instrumental in shaping both the participants’ artistic practice and creative mindset, an aspect Baniabbasi reflected on when talking about her exhibition experience.

“Before CAAD, my approach to art was rather two dimensional, but I have learned to grow from that. Professors challenged me and I took classes in animation and visual narrative that helped prepare me for animating my film. My final studio class with Ali Matay (Assistant Professor of Art and Design) was also a huge help. I was able to learn a lot from his feedback. I started to pay attention to things I previously would have missed. I will always be really grateful for everything I learned at CAAD,” she said.

Zlatan Filipovic, Associate Professor in Art and Design and student mentor for some of the exhibited projects, noted that Ars Electronica was an excellent platform for AUS multimedia design students to showcase their work, especially that there were very few exhibitors from the UAE and region.

“Over the five days, Ars Electronica Festival had more than 100,000 visitors and our student projects received special attention and positive feedback. Although the international character of the festival and exhibition include academic institutions from around the globe, voices of the young creatives from the MENA region are relatively few. This is why the topics and vantage points our students presented resonated with the audience and brought a fresh breath of plurality in regards to the use of technology in contemporary creative practice,” said Filipovic.

He added: “Supported by the undergraduate research grant from CAAD, our students presented projects that bring a breath of diverse conceptual and technical approaches and focus on personal histories as well as specific vantage points on the current state of humanity and world perceived from the UAE and the Arab region.”

Multimedia design has become increasingly significant in today’s digital world, with its interdisciplinary nature in demand across industries. The Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Design program  at CAAD prepares students for careers in media design and cinematic arts by fostering their conceptual, creative and aesthetic development. 

“Our philosophy teaching media and film design and art focuses on a studio-based pedagogy, an approach that is tested with real work projects that explore the potential of ever-developing technology and modes of storytelling using these platforms. It is at times a collaborative teamwork that pulls in a range of aesthetic and conceptual sensibilities individual students bring to the project but often culminates with the capstone senior project,” explained Filipovic.

Many CAAD multimedia alumni have successfully established careers in media production industries across the region, working in diverse settings—from boutique design studios to global media giants like Warner Bros. They are contributing to the creation of content that resonates with Arab audiences while also engaging in projects with global reach, spanning movies, television and games.

To learn more about the undergraduate multimedia program at AUS, visit www.aus.edu/caad/programs/multimedia-design.