Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, and until Thursday, July 16, Casa Árabe participates in the initiative of the Ministries of Culture of Spain and Palestine, organized within the framework of the International Forum for Palestinian Culture.
The International Forum for Palestinian Culture includes a Ministerial Conference and the Citizen Agora, in which Casa Árabe’s activities are framed. Specifically, they will be:
Round table: “Cultural cooperation with Palestine”
July 15 at 5 PM at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Valle Inclán Room (c/ Alcalá, 42). Free entry with prior registration. Registrations at this link.
The meeting, dedicated to cultural cooperation actions with Palestine, will feature the participation of: Karim Hauser, coordinator of Culture and International Relations at Casa Árabe; Haizam Amirah Fernández, executive director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CEARC); Ana Mª Sánchez Salcedo, technician of the Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations – Subdirectorate of Cooperation and Cultural Action for Sustainable Development of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID); Laura Pérez, program ‘Barcelona Districte 11, Cities of Palestine’ of the Barcelona City Council, and Rosario Sandoval, councilor for Education, Childhood, and Youth. Project alongside the Lajee Center / Rebel Circus School of the Rivas-Vaciamadrid City Council.
The round table will be moderated by Moussa Bourekba, senior researcher at CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs).
Family tatriz workshop. The art of embroidering Palestinian memory and history
Also on July 15 at 6 PM. Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid (c/ Alcalá, 42). Prior registration is essential. Limited spots (25 people). Materials included. Registrations. Unfortunately, all spots are filled.
Approach the richness and varieties of Palestinian embroidery (tatriz), with this workshop, taught by the Hispanic-Palestinian artist Maysun Cheikh Ali Mediavilla and the Gazan refugee embroiderer Dalia Hammad.
The tatriz, or traditional Palestinian embroidery, was declared in 2021 Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. It is a popular art traditionally practiced by women and has become a symbol of Palestinian culture, identity, and resistance. Around this practice, spaces for interaction and learning were and are generated among women and generations shared with similar artistic customs in other regions of the Arab world and the Mediterranean.
It was used to decorate dresses, with shapes, colors, and particular motifs that helped identify the region and place of historical Palestine where they were woven. A map of symbols and memories that has been completely disrupted after the Nakba and the occupation, and that acquires new forms and uses during the different phases of the Palestinian struggle to reclaim and return to their land. Today, in addition to a form of artistic expression, memory, and cultural resistance, it is also a means of survival, especially for many Palestinian women in the diaspora.
The objective of the workshop is to raise awareness of the different varieties and dimensions of this form of intangible heritage and its significance in Palestinian identity and culture. It includes an initial theoretical presentation (15 min) on tatriz in the history and culture of Palestine, plus a practical embroidery session, with some of the typical patterns from these regions, such as the coffee bean from Gaza, the snowflake or Bethlehem star, the dove from Ramallah, the cypress from Hebron, or the oranges from Jaffa.
