Can centering traditions and philosophies associated with tapestries and its symbols be a way to speculate upon new ways of design and art-making?
How can we interweave tradition into the eternal present? During this workshop we will look specifically into the old crafts and symbols of tapestries and woodblocks. These art forms are surrounded by immaterial cultural heritages: symbolic ornaments, visual languages that have been undermined by the modernist ‘less is more’ lens. Together we will translate symbols into stamp-objects out of accessible materials, analogous to the woodblock printing technique. This workshop is a space of theoretic insight and hands-on practice.
No experience is recquired to participate, only an open mind and curious hands. The intention is to reflect on different symbologies and engage in dialogues of interpretation and creation. By the end of the session, each person will have created an individual stamp and a collective design with other participant’s stamps.
Hussein Shikha is a multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, writer, and researcher. He was born and raised in Iraq and moved to Antwerp in 2009. He graduated with an MA in visual arts from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. His work deals with the preservation, translation, and digitization of the visual culture from his intersectional experience as an Iraqi-Belgian. Currently, he is doing research on the erasure of handmade Iraqi tapestries and its idea of ‘beauty’ that relates to Islamic art, as a way to de-modernize his creative practices.
Sadrie Alves is a Belgian Brazilian multidisciplinary artist, illustrator and performer currently living in Brussels. The core of her artistic practice departs from drawing as a symbolic action and as a catalyst for tender narratives and collaboration. She sees drawing as writing as singing as crafting. Her work is inspired by oral histories, myths, and the beings that inhabit them.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
→ Saturday, 25 June from 16:00 till 19:00
→ in the monastery garden of Kunsthal Extra City & Morpho
→ instructions of the workshop are in English
→ participation workshop included by the purchase of a regular entrance ticket
→ limited number of places, please pre-register here
Photo: © Hussein Shikha and Sadrie Alves
Language English