HSE University-St Petersburg School of Art and Design Takes an Expedition to Morocco
HSE University-St Petersburg students, led by the dean of the School of Art and Design, joined the international laboratory and visited Morocco. In the land of golden sunsets, the team met representatives of cultural institutions from four cities. Using the materials they collected, young designers will develop a brand identity for local projects, museums, and design studios.
The expedition team included eight students of 'Communication Design'. During their visits to Casablanca, Fez, Chefchaouen and Marrakesh, they explored the key sights of the country: famous leather dye houses, the Majorelle Garden, and the Hassan II Mosque. The immersion in the cultural context of Morocco will lead to projects on branding of local creative initiatives.
'The journey across Maghreb inspired me by how chaos created its own unique order, which the country had been following for hundreds of years. All along the way, we came across picturesque little things: tablets, signs, carpet patterns and local shops signs... Each one was created carefully, so they didn't fall out of the turbulent flow of life and didn't fade into the background.
I want to devote my project to the art of Mahi Binebine: an artist, writer and founder of the African Book Festival. In terms of the event branding, I'm planning to explore how the African-wide identity is intertwined with Moroccan culture and how the identity reflects the process of knowledge transmission', shared Elizaveta Sheremetyeva, 3rd-year student.
'The highlight for me was the walk in the centre of Fez. That is why my project will be devoted to the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts located in the heart of the medina, the oldest part of the city. The collection includes objects preserved since ancient times; many of them were decorated with geometric patterns. This is what I want to use as a basis', added Galina Kiseleva, 4th-year student.
Mitya Kharshak
Dean of the School of Art and Design
Now, the students have an ambitious task to develop a recognisable brand identity for regions, cultural institutions and national crafts which they discovered during the fieldwork. We are planning to present the result of the international laboratory to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Morocco and at the HSE International Partners' Week, which is held annually in St Petersburg and will take place next May.
It's not the first time that HSE University-St Petersburg School of Art and Design has organised international variable courses. In February 2026, the students went to India, where they studied the visual culture of the country. The work resulted in a hand-painted train, which now decorates the campus of Lovely Professional University.
