Berlin: Threads of Egyptian Life

2025, James Simon Galerie in Berlin

This small exhibit of wool and cotton tapestries, and a few batiks, showcases artists from the Ramses Wissa Wassef Cultural Center in Harrania, Egypt near the great Pyramids of Giza.

Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911-1974), an architect, potter, weaver, and designer, founded the center in the 1950s as a school and training center for children and young people from the nearby village. His goal was to revive traditional arts like weaving, that were disappearing.

He believed every person is born with the ability to create art, as long as they have the freedom to do so, but that outside influences quickly suppress this ability.

"His students were first admitted to the center around the age of 10; he wanted them to be able to develop their imagination spontaneously without outside influence. He believed this helped them build self-confidence and express their uniqueness. His three key principles were:

1) There should be no preliminary designs or pre-made templates, as these would weaken the act of artistic creation.

2) The creative phase should remain uninfluenced by external aesthetic interference (he didn't take young students to museums in order to avoid the temptation to imitate).

3) At the early stages, the artworks should not be criticized or influenced by outside interference, including from teachers. (Only later, around adolescence, do the students start getting more guidance from the teachers.)

This project has obvious artistic importance, but has also had a social impact on its community. The weavers can help their families with extra income from the tapestries, and daughters, who gain respect through their financial contributions, are under less pressure to marry and even if they do marry, often keep working at weaving instead of in the fields, which enlightens village society."

from Threads of Egyptian Life, Exhibition Book, Berlin, 2025 (some paraphrasing)

Scroll through the photos in this link, and watch a short video of one of the artists talking about the art center.

https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/threads-of-egyptian-life/

Here are some photos I took. Immerse yourself in the sunflowers.