In honor of Kuwait being chosen an International Cultural Capital in 2016, the Sadu House/ Beit AlSadu was invited to do something special to honor the occasion. Inspired by the traditional Bedouin tent divider, a 12 meter long panoramic woven wall was created, based on 6 themes: Sadu, Desert, Sea, Islamic, Traditional Kuwait, and Modern Kuwait. More than 30 international artists contributed a total of 72 panels. 10 of these panels were made by students of Lesli Robertson, consulting textile professor from the US as part of a cultural exchange. The techniques used to make the panels ranged from weaving to crochet, knitting, quilting, hand and machine embroidery, needlepoint, fabric painting, macramé, and 3-D printing. The panels were joined together to create a sculpture telling the artists’ stories of Kuwait.
After a year of solid work on this project, November 7th, the exhibition (held from 8-13 November) was inaugurated in the Multi-Purpose Hall at the beautiful Al Shaheed Park. The Secretary General of the National Council of Arts and Letters, Mr. Ali Al Youha, and Ambassadors from the US, UK, and Lebanon, in addition to close to 400 guests attended the opening night of the Weaving Stories exhibition.
The historical weaving heritage of the Arabian Peninsula is a vibrant and essential element of traditional material culture. Traditional al Sadu woven textiles convey the Bedouin women weavers’ ideals of their rich heritage and instinctive awareness of natural beauty, with patterns and designs messaging the nomadic lifestyle, the desert environment, and the emphasis of aesthetic symmetry and balance due to the making process.
The significance of al Sadu weaving as a decorative craft, is due not only to its importance as material culture but also because of its functionality, which served the everyday needs of the traditional Bedouin nomadic lifestyle. Al Sadu textiles can be linked and feature in many different aspects of Bedouin community life, and are testimony to the weavers’ ‘practical achievements, their manual dexterity and aesthetic values’. But like a visual language, decorative iconography and patterns create a lexicon of symbols, with messages conveying the creativity and history of desert and coastal nomadic dwelling, and providing glimpses into the creative lives of the women who wove them and the tribal nomads who lived among them.
Sadu weaving is a highly prized element of Kuwait’s material culture, admired for its rich colours, geometric motifs and ornamental symmetry. The Sadu House thereby geared up to present ‘Weaving Stories’, an interactive exhibition to celebrate Kuwait being chosen the Islamic Cultural Capital of 2016, for the Arab Region.
One of the most elaborate woven pieces that was a part of the Bedouin environment was the traditional tent divider, Qata, or Ibjad, the term used for the finely ornate Qata, which customarily divided the men’s and women’s sections of the tent. It was the most decorated textile in the tent, and the most impressive achievement of the weavers in the family. These elaborate woven works were the inspiration, conceived and envisaged by Sheikha Altaf Al-Sabah, for the development of Weaving Stories. This exhibition focussed around a large-scale collective sculpture inspired by the Bedouin tent divider. For the Weaving Stories exhibition, the tent divider was re-interpreted by creating a free standing structure that functions as both a frame and loom, a place and space to consider the story of Kuwait. Numerous independent artists and makers created a unique work that when combined, became the “cloth” of the tent divider, woven together to form a picture of the many facets of contemporary Kuwaiti culture. Many different art media came together to reflect the three main attributes of a Bedouin tent divider in that it is a functional wall, it exhibits creativity, and is a piece of striking visual beauty.
In conjunction with the large installation, a series of interactive programing are also being developed to work directly with the community, from children to adults on creating ways to explore their story with Sadu cloth. Plans are being made to hold workshops for people of different ages, based around the themes in the installation. These activities will be a launching pad to an educational program that will later tour schools in Kuwait to increase the awareness and knowledge of textile arts and their cultural role today. It is vital that the younger generation learn about their heritage in new engaging ways that will motivate and encourage them to appreciate and keep textile traditions alive. The aim is to inspire them with a fresh perspective that will hopefully perpetuate a love of the arts.