Mapping Migration Memories, is a multiyear research project under the (IN)>TANGIBLE_LAB in VCUArts Qatar. The Lab is gathering existing archived and recorded memories and oral histories of the biannual Qatari migration. This mass movement of people, in sync with the turning of the planet and the shifting of the seasons, now exists as oral history and archived footage. The Lab will share the research process of sourcing migration memories and our recent expeditions and re-enactments in the desert. The (IN)>TANGIBLE_LAB seeks to preserve and extend Living Culture and Traditional Ecological Knowledge through Art and Design.

Astrid Kensinger has pursued her art and design practice internationally, spending much time in Japan, Singapore, Australia and the USA. She uses her personal practice to inform her multidisciplinary research collaborations. Astrid interweaves information visualization, cartographic performance and performance art with graphic design to visually articulate site specific narratives, intangible heritage, contemporary issues and the map as art. She has exhibited and presented her work internationally in solo and group shows, in juried exhibitions and conferences. Her most recent multidisciplinary research collaborations have included facilitating, through co-design, Dengue fever outbreak solutions (Skoll Foundation, Epihack Colombo, Sri Lanka) and visualizing the research methodologies of linguists mapping and preserving endangered languages of South East (DIHA: Digital Intangible Heritage of Asia). Astrid is an Associate Professor and the Chair of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University of the Arts in Qatar and runs the (IN)>Tangible Lab.