Sonia Ashour, founder and principal of A|G interior design consultants, will be the featured speaker at VCUQatar’s commencement ceremony on 2 May, 2011.
Sonia Ashour is the co-founder of the Department of Interior Design at Dar Al- Hekma, one of the first and leading private colleges for women in Saudi Arabia, where she has also lectured in Foundation of Color, Graphics and Drawing. In 2001, Ashour founded A|G interior design consultants and has been the Principal since. Her firm handles high profile sovereign and cultural projects including embassies and residences for ambassadors for the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The UNESCO Arab Regional Center for World Heritage in Bahrain. Restoration projects include the late Minoru Yamasaki Airport in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and the Murad Guest House for the Ministry of Culture, Bahrain (a UNESCO world heritage nominated project).
Ashour is passionate about where she comes from and plays an active role in the field of academia. She teaches and advises on a volunteer basis at several Gulf-based universities and speaks on the subject of “Cultural Identity” at many conferences. She has conducted numerous cultural workshops including MENALAB 2010 in Dubai, UAE on “The preservation of Al-Khoor” and continues to act as a design and cultural advisor on many mega projects in the Gulf.
Sonia Ashour has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Architecture from King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in International Hospitality Design from VCU, Richmond.
