A love song to Palestine: ‘Thread Memory’ at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah 

A love song to Palestine: ‘Thread Memory’ at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah 
'Fatima Yousef Sewing a Palestinian thobe, Kobar-Ramallah, the 1970s' (1970s). (Courtesy of the Palestinian Museum)
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Updated 30 January 2025
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A love song to Palestine: ‘Thread Memory’ at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah 

A love song to Palestine: ‘Thread Memory’ at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah 
  • Curator Rachel Dedman discusses the show celebrating the ancient art of tatreez 

JEDDAH: In January, the exhibition “Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine” opened at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah. It explores the ancient Palestinian tradition of tatreez; intricate hand embroidery primarily undertaken by women. 

Tatreez — a slow, laborious and deliberate practice — is far more than just a decorative art form; it has come to be seen as a symbol of resilience, community and cultural pride. Amid the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, the exhibition celebrates Palestinian stories and creativity. 




On Jan. 23, the exhibition “Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine” opened at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah. (Supplied)

It is also, curator Rachel Dedman notes, “an opportunity for the Palestinian diaspora in Saudi — which is a huge community — to connect with their own heritage.” And there are, she adds, “really fertile connections to be made, interdisciplinarily, between (Palestinian) embroidery and embroidery from Saudi Arabia.”  

The exhibition, which runs until April 17, features more than 30 dresses and multiple accessories — pieces of jewelry, small dolls, a handkerchief, headdresses — plus more than 100 images from the Palestinian Museum. It also includes a display of smartphones showcasing real-time updates from Palestine.  

In partnership with the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, “Thread Memory” draws from an extensive archive, emphasizing tatreez as a living art form which is deeply entwined within Palestinian life and tells the stories of generations of people and of shared resistance and hope amid the ongoing violence and threat of erasure. 




Rachel Dedman. (Supplied)

Dedman says there are probably as many tatreez variations as there are villages in Palestine. She views it as a way in which its female creators empower themselves, looking to the future when the present might seem unbearable. The dresses mark the milestones of a woman’s life.  

In times of displacement, often the women can only take with them the clothes on their back, so there are instances when a garment has been modified to fit different bodies.  

The exhibition is also full of textual information.  

“There’s beauty in (that), because this is a history that’s being actively erased — or that is under threat of erasure,” says Dedman. “So by offering up a lot of information, I hope maybe there’s some Palestinians in Jeddah who feel more connected to their own history or heritage, who feel seen, who feel represented, who feel able to come to a space and experience the grief that we’re all feeling, acknowledged in this beautiful way. 

Some of the dresses actually come from personal collections in Riyadh and Jeddah, Dedman explains. “There’s also a wonderful Syrian dress included; (these are) examples of how, in diaspora, these dresses continue to be deeply meaningful for those who own them,” Dedman explains. 




Handmade embroidered ties created by the Association for the Development of Palestinian Camps (INAASH)' (1973), (Courtesy of the Palestinian Museum)

While Dedman is not of Palestinian descent, she is an active and avid supporter of the Palestinian cause, and she sees tatreez is a profound reflection of Palestinian life, resilience and creativity. 

“Nobody who has — or practices — tatreez finds it trivial,” she says.  

Dedman — a London-based expert in Middle Eastern textiles, has dedicated over a decade to studying tatreez, starting in 2014 with her work for the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, with whom she collaborated for this exhibition. Her previous exhibitions have highlighted tatreez as both an art and a tool of cultural preservation. In addition to her role as the Jameel Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Dedman also lectures globally on the intersection of textiles, identity and politics. 

“I’m in this position of enormous privilege; I have the passports to travel between Lebanon and Palestine — no Lebanese or Palestinian can do so,” she explains. “And for me, it was really important to not just drop in and interview someone, but to try and forge relationships and bring them in as sort of members.”  

Her goal for the Jeddah exhibition is simple. “I’m always excited by the opportunity to bring Palestinian voices into a space. I hope it speaks to people,” she says. “For me, the dresses are almost punctuation amid the love song to Palestine that this exhibition is.” 


Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale: The making of ‘On Weaving’ — winner of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize 

Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale: The making of  ‘On Weaving’ — winner of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize 
Updated 38 min 2 sec ago
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Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale: The making of ‘On Weaving’ — winner of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize 

Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale: The making of  ‘On Weaving’ — winner of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize 
  • The award — part of the Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale — was given to a design inspired by regional weaving traditions

JEDDAH:  Currently situated under the expansive canopies outside Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal is “On Weaving,” the winning design of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize — an international award for the design of a musalla, a place for prayer and contemplation that is open to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.  

The winners of the inaugural edition of the award — which is part of the Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale — are a collective including Dubai and Beirut-based EAST Architecture Studio, structural engineer Christopher Blust from AKT II, and Beirut- and San Francisco-based artist Rayyane Tabet. They designed a modular structure inspired by regional weaving traditions and constructed from sustainable local materials such as date palm waste and palm fronds and fibers. The space was immediately popular with visitors during the opening days of the biennale, with many heading inside to one of the smaller rooms to pray.  

The modular structure used engineered, glue-laminated palm-wood composite, which is the product of the waste of 150 palm trees — proof of the ability to use local, sustainable materials to create lasting architectural structures. 

A summary of “On Weaving” on the biennale website states: “The double-sided pedestal is staggering in its ascent and thinning out as it reaches towards the sky. Its form resembles a loom, paying homage to tangible and intangible cultural heritage of weaving traditions and craftsmanship. It is autonomous, but also modular to suggest multiple uses — acting as structure, function, and ornament. The earthy colors that make up the musalla’s exterior are energized with color within the structure’s interior, where natural dyes made from local and regional plants are used to create bright reds, blues, greens and yellows. The musalla’s open courtyard invites visitors to sit, gather or pray, individually or communally.”  

“The brief for the competition called for a collaborative team that brings together an architect, an artist, and a structural engineer and fabrication expert,” Nicolas Fayad, co-founder of EAST Architecture Studio, told Arab News. “From the very first moment, we worked together conceptually and philosophically on what it means to build a musalla today — knowing that musallas, unlike mosques, are largely nomadic in nature; they were built by Bedouins in the desert (and could be) moved from one place to another.” 

AlMusalla 2025, Drawing courtesy of EAST Architecture Studio. (Supplied)

So Fayad and his collaborators set out to create a structure that could easily be assembled, disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere (indeed, after the biennale ends on May 25, it will be moved to another location). It features an open central courtyard and prayer spaces and somewhat resembles a loom, addressing ideas of togetherness and proximity — core tenets of prayer in Islam. The façades were created by weaving together palm fronds and fibers, and the gaps let in natural light, as well as allowing the musalla to be incorporated into its surroundings. 

“Our musalla looks at the legacy of cultural typologies in spaces of worship, coupled with weaving as a craft,” Fayad explained. “(It also serves) as a structural performance that uses local material — most importantly, waste that comes from a natural material. We have identified throughout our research that there’s a lot of waste that comes from palm trees in Saudi Arabia.” 

The modular structure used engineered, glue-laminated palm-wood composite, which is the product of the waste of 150 palm trees — proof of the ability to use local, sustainable materials to create lasting architectural structures. 

What is so striking about the structure is not just the materials used to make it and the way in which it was created, but the literal and metaphorical tribute the structure pays to weaving.  

“On Weaving,” Fayad explained, is a metaphor for creativity and a reference to a material culture long dominant in the region,” adding that the design of the space readapts the narrative of woven textile as both an art and a functional design element. 

Weaving is itself a meditative ritual, of course, so here it serves as both an important part of the design process while also reflecting spirituality and the cultural heritage of the Kingdom and the wider Gulf region. 

“(We are presenting) the idea of weaving not only as a craft or as a way of making, but also as a way of holding art, architecture and engineering together as part of a continuous tradition,” said Fayad.  


‘The Tale of Daye’s Family,’ starring Saudi actress Aseel Omran, has European premiere

‘The Tale of Daye’s Family,’ starring Saudi actress Aseel Omran, has European premiere
Updated 20 February 2025
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‘The Tale of Daye’s Family,’ starring Saudi actress Aseel Omran, has European premiere

‘The Tale of Daye’s Family,’ starring Saudi actress Aseel Omran, has European premiere

DUBAI: Egyptian-Saudi co-production “The Tale of Daye’s Family,” by filmmaker Karim El-Shenawy and featuring Saudi actress Aseel Omran, made its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The film marks Omran’s debut in Egyptian cinema and also stars Islam Mubarak, Badr Mohamed and Haneen Saeed, with guest appearances by Ahmed Helmy, Mohamed Shahin, Mohamed Mamdouh and Amina Khalil. 

Screening as part of the Generation 14 plus category, the film — which opened the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah last year — tells the story of Daye, a 14-year-old Nubian albino child blessed with a beautiful voice.

Daye’s family, recognizing his talent and his goal to become like his idol, Egyptian icon Mohamed Mounir, decide to travel to Cairo to audition for talent program “The Voice.”

The Berlin International Film Festival, also known as Berlinale, runs until Feb. 23.
 


‘Art of the Kingdom’ exhibition arrives in Riyadh after Brazil debut

‘Art of the Kingdom’ exhibition arrives in Riyadh after Brazil debut
Updated 20 February 2025
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‘Art of the Kingdom’ exhibition arrives in Riyadh after Brazil debut

‘Art of the Kingdom’ exhibition arrives in Riyadh after Brazil debut

RIYADH: The travelling exhibition of Saudi contemporary art, “Art of the Kingdom: Poetic Illuminations,” will open at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art on Feb. 24 following its successful debut in Rio de Janeiro, where it had more than 26,000 visitors. The show includes works by 17 prominent Saudi artists.  

Curator Diana Wechsler told Arab News: “Few people know what is happening in the artistic field in Saudi Arabia. Information circulates — everywhere and about any topic — in a very fragmented way and this affects the image that people have of a country or a society.”  

Detail from Sarah Abuabdallah's and Ghada Al Hassan's 'Horizontal Dimensions.' (Supplied)

The show’s Rio debut, she said, was a great success. “Why? Because it opened up views and perspectives, it surprised colleagues, specialists in art history and contemporary art, as well as surprising and greatly interesting the general public. It must also be said that the artists and works of art selected are very interesting and powerful and, at the same time, quite different from other contemporary proposals.”  

Wechsler carried out exhaustive research when selecting the featured artists. She visited workshops, conducted interviews, and explored the artists’ cultural references. 

 Works from 'The Art of the Kingdom - Poetic Illuminations' in Rio de Janeiro last year. (Supplied)

“From this research emerged the concept of ‘poetic illuminations,’ which shows how art is capable of participating in a cultural tradition and, at the same time, forms part of the present,” she said. “The exhibition — and, in particular, the selected artists — are part of the process and continuity of a dynamic construction of cultural identity, with a great commitment to their roots and, at the same time, with an interesting contemporary perspective.” 

There are certain elements of Saudi culture that run through the exhibition. Perhaps the most powerful, Wechsler suggested, is the image of the desert, which “appears in different ways in practically all the selected artists’ works.”  

Another theme is the tension between the past and the present. “The imagination of the future is found in these artists,” Wechsler said. “This is one of the most fascinating aspects offered to me by the exploration of the Saudi artistic and cultural (scene).”  

The Riyadh exhibition will feature newly created site-specific works as well as some pieces from the Ministry of Culture’s collection. Its main challenge is to adapt to the local public, who will have a better understanding of the culture explored by the artists.  

“In Rio the challenge was to show how Saudi Arabia manages its cultural processes and how artists work between different pasts and presents. In Riyadh, the situation is different,” said Wechsler. “The challenge is to capture the attention of the public and reflect on their cultural traditions from a current perspective. I think this is one of the objectives of contemporary art in general.”  

 Muhannad Shono's 'The Ground Day Breaks.' (Supplied)

As Saudi artists continue to face new frontiers, through this exhibition and their growing prominence in the global art sphere, it is necessary, Wechsler believes, “to be attentive to the experiences of contemporary life, to be able to contribute their perspective to point out invisible aspects, to highlight imaginary dimensions which, as we know, are often those that allow us to think about the present from a new perspective.” 

The Riyadh show will run until April 25 before the exhibition makes its way to the National Museum in China, marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Saudi-Chinese diplomatic relations.  


Marrakech museum reopens with homage to African art

Marrakech museum reopens with homage to African art
Updated 19 February 2025
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Marrakech museum reopens with homage to African art

Marrakech museum reopens with homage to African art
  • Morocco’s largest private art museum returning to educational ‘core,’ says co-founder Othman Lazraq

DUBAI: The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al-Maaden, which reopened last week, is returning to its “core” of showcasing the continent’s artists, in addition to breathing a “new and different life” into it, says co-founder Othman Lazraq.

MACAAL was inaugurated in 2018 as the first museum of contemporary art in Marrakech, by founders Othman and his father Alami.

MACAAL (artwork: Fatiha Zemmouri, La pesanteur et la grâce, 2019) By Omar Tajmouati.

It houses the extensive collection of the Lazraq family, one of the most comprehensive private holdings of modern and contemporary African art on the continent.

Originally designed by French architect Didier Lefort, it had been closed since the spring of 2023. The closure took place just a few months before the night of Sept. 8, 2023, when a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck south of Marrakech.

This was the strongest earthquake to hit the country in over a century, severely damaging dozens of buildings in the city — many of which are still being reconstructed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by MACAAL (@macaal_)

The revamped museum celebrated its reopening with the new permanent exhibition “Seven Contours, One Collection,” featuring over 150 rotating works from most of Africa’s 54 nations.

The aim is to showcase the breadth and diversity of art from the continent, while breaking down reductive stereotypes and fostering inclusivity.

“We realized we needed a big shift, and that big shift was getting back to the core of what the museum means to us which is more educational,” Lazraq, a practicing architect and associate of Lazraq Studio, told Arab News.

“African art is part of the identity of the collection, and we wanted to share it more broadly.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by MACAAL (@macaal_)

The museum will now offer a semi-permanent exhibition format, hosting 150 on rotation from the 2,500-piece collection.

The show marking the reopening presents a poignantly curated presentation of works in a variety of mediums, including photography, painting, textiles, video art, sculpture and installations.

Notable pieces include works by the late Moroccan painter Mohamed Melehi, Moroccan modernist Farid Belkahia, Malian photographer Malick Sidibe, Congolese artist Pierre Bodo, Sudanese painter Salah Elmur, and the late French-Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by MACAAL (@macaal_)

For the redesign of the museum, MACAAL entrusted scenographer Franck Houndegla to create a new media library and a permanent space to allow for an expansive collection of African art from the Lazraq family collection. The museum has also launched a new program of site-specific sculpture commissions.

“I want to bring a new and different life to the museum,” said Lazraq, noting how he hopes to bring in music, performance and design to the temporary spaces.

“The mission of (the museum) has always been to democratize access to art to a wider audience.

“Its most important mission is to inspire a generation of artists to feel safe and welcome — where they know there is a museum where their works can be exhibited and collected.”


Mona Tougaard shines in new Versace campaign

Mona Tougaard shines in new Versace campaign
Updated 19 February 2025
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Mona Tougaard shines in new Versace campaign

Mona Tougaard shines in new Versace campaign

DUBAI: Model Mona Tougaard showed off the new Versace collection this week as she starred in the luxury fashion house’s latest campaign.

Tougaard, who has Danish, Turkish, Somali and Ethiopian ancestry, was seen on video reclining on a deep orange sofa, her hair styled in a sleek, straight look with blunt bangs.

She wore a two-piece ensemble combining various textures and patterns.

A lilac-toned sequined crop top featured delicate yellow floral embroidery, thin straps and a plunging neckline. The skirt, in rich brown satin, had an intricate overlay of cream floral lace.

Accessories include oversized engraved gold rings with motifs such as the Versace Medusa emblem and baroque-inspired designs. Others had sculpted leaves and swirling patterns.

Also highlighted was a bold red handbag with intricate silver embroidery and a gold medallion clasp, with the Versace logo prominently displayed.

Tougaard wore a rich navy look, featuring a shaggy-textured coat draped over matching velvet pants. (Supplied)

Tougaard’s footwear included a pair of sparkling crystal-embellished heels in a soft mint green shade, with a delicate ankle strap featuring a silver buckle and a sharply pointed toe.

Tougaard started her modeling career in 2017 after winning the Elite Model Look Denmark competition at the age of 15. Since then, she has become a well-known figure in the fashion industry, working with top designers and luxury brands including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chanel and Valentino.

The catwalk star has had a whirlwind month, gracing the runway during New York Fashion Week in the Tory Burch Fall/Winter 2025 show.

She sported a look in rich navy, including a shaggy-textured coat draped over matching velvet pants.

A structured scarf was wrapped around her shoulders, secured with a gold pin. The look was completed with glossy pointed-toe shoes and she carried a slouchy black leather handbag with soft folds and a long strap.

In January, she was part of the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025 show at Paris Fashion Week, when she wore a halter-neck dress with a sheer, form-fitting bodice that transitioned into a voluminous skirt with meticulously folded fabric. The gunmetal shade accentuated the texture of the design.

“This dress is a literal masterpiece,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a video of herself on the runway. “I’m completely lost for words.”