Panel Discussion – Reflections on the Exhibition ‘Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery’
27 September, 6.30–8pm
Join us at Kettle’s Yard for a panel discussion about our current exhibition Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery, with exhibition curator Rachel Dedman and artists Aya Haidar and Maeve Brennan.
In this panel discussion the speakers will discuss themes emerging from the exhibition, such as the role of Palestinian embroidery today and the ways in which this traditional practice is expressed in contemporary art.
About Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery
Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery explores the historical life and contemporary significance of Palestinian embroidery. This ancient and beautiful practice remains an important living tradition and the most prominent cultural material of Palestine today. Curated by Rachel Dedman, the exhibition looks at the ways in which embroidery, primarily undertaken by women, has evolved through a century of turbulent history for the Palestinian people.
This is the first major exhibition of Palestinian embroidery in the UK for over 30 years, with more than 40 dresses and embroidered objects on display lent from important private collections in Jordan and Palestine. Every dress tells a story: whether about the lives of women with their astonishing skills and creativity in the early decades of the last century, or the trauma of displacement as a result of the war of 1948. And reflecting the decades since: in which the vibrant colours and patterns of Palestinian embroidery, now often created for a global market by groups of women, have become symbolic of nationhood, memory, and resistance. Alongside historic dresses are artworks by five contemporary artists, films of embroiderers speaking about their work and rarely seen archive material.
Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery is organised by Kettle’s Yard in collaboration with the Whitworth, The University of Manchester, where it will travel from 24 November 2023 – 7 April 2024.
The exhibition is generously supported by The Orange Tree Trust and the Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery Supporters Circle.
FREE, come along
About the speakers
Rachel Dedman
Rachel Dedman is a curator, writer, and art historian. From 2013-2019 Rachel was an independent curator based in Beirut, Lebanon, curating projects for artists and institutions across the Middle East and Europe. In Beirut she developed her specialism in the cultural and political histories of Palestinian textiles and dress. In 2016, she curated the exhibition At the Seams: A Political History of Palestinian Embroidery at Dar el-Nimer in Beirut. An expanded version of the exhibition, entitled Labour of Love: New Approaches to Palestinian Embroidery was presented at the Palestinian Museum in the West Bank in 2018.
In November 2019 Rachel joined the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, as Jameel Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East. Recent projects for the V&A include Beirut Mapped, a writing commissioning platform for Lebanese artists, and Jameel Prize: Poetry to Politics, an exhibition featuring the work of contemporary artists and designers from the global south. Rachel holds a First-class degree in History of Art from St John’s College, Oxford, and was the Von Clemm Postgraduate Fellow at Harvard University where she specialised in art from the Middle East.
Aya Haidar
Aya Haidar graduated with a BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Art, during which she completed an exchange program at SAIC (Chicago). She then went on to graduate with an MSc in NGOs and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Haidar’s work has been included in exhibitions at institutions such as Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge), Camden Arts Center (London), Cubitt (London), Museum of Contemporary Art, (Slovenia), New Art Exchange (Nottingham), Jeddah Arts Week 21,39 (KSA), as well as in Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hoor Al Qasimi’s Do It (2016), Shubbak Festival (London), INIVA’s A Place for Conversation (London), Mosaic Rooms (London), Frieze (London), Art Berlin contemporary (Berlin), Casa Arabe, (Madrid), Art Dubai (UAE), Abu Dhabi Art (UAE), V&A’s Record, Resist, Reframe (London), Tate’s Illuminating Cultures program (London).
Her work is internationally collected by private collections and institutions, most recently by the Guggenheim Museum.
Maeve Brennan
Maeve Brennan is an artist and filmmaker based in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Chisenhale Gallery, London, Spike Island, Bristol, The Whitworth, Manchester, among others and her films have been screened internationally at Open City Documentary Festival; International Film Festival Rotterdam; FILMADRID; Sheffield Doc Fest and Sonic Acts, Amsterdam. Brennan received the Jerwood/FVU Award 2018, Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists (2021) and was the Stanley Picker Fine Art Fellow (2019–22). She was awarded the Sainsbury Scholarship at the British School at Rome (2023) and is currently in residence at Somerset House Studios, London. She is an Associate Lecturer at Royal College of Art (MA Photography) and at Goldsmiths, University of London (MA Artist Film and Moving Image).
Reviews
Had a fantastic time at Kettle’s Yard today, visiting their exhibition on Palestinian embroidery. Exquisite artefacts and well-judged information, tracing the relationship of needlework to national, local and gender identity.
EXHIBITION VISITOR
The exhibition is a living history, encouraging renewed reinterpretations of the craft.
THE GUARDIAN
Gallery
Photos by Jo Underhill
Access
- The galleries, where exhibitions are shown, and all areas of the Clore Learning Studio (level -1), the Research Space (level 1) and the Ede Room (level 2) are fully accessible.
- We have wheelchair accessible toilets on the lower ground (level -1), ground and first floor (level 1).
- There is a lift giving access to all floors located past the galleries, just beside the Clore Learning Studio on the ground floor.
- Kettle’s Yard welcomes assistance and service dogs in all areas.
- We have large-print versions of the wall text available.
- We can lend visitors small folding seats for taking around exhibitions or using at non-seated events. Please ask a Visitor Assistant for help finding a seat.
