Damascus-SANA
“Because we need hope, love and colors.” With that wish, German artist Heika Weber launched this evening her exhibition of Syrian embroidery arts at Zawaya Gallery in Damascus.
The exhibition collected works of art by about 50 women working within the “Anah” project, and it varied between handicrafts of traditional clothes embroidered with artistic stitches dating back to various regions of the Syrian geography, and home and personal accessories.
The exhibition also included embroidered paintings documenting the prevailing societal customs and traditions in the countryside, which were characterized by bright colors and drawings of real-life features in the Syrian villages.
Artist Weber explained in a statement to SANA reporter that she focused on embroidered clothes in particular, in order to preserve this attractive type of Syrian heritage and pass it on to generations.
She indicated that the “Anah” project used to employ more than 1,000 women, and because of the war, only about 50 of them remained, whose passion for work, production, and documenting their heritage through rural-style handicrafts carried them.
Weber pointed out that the exhibition contains many types of poles and designs, including the steam pole, which gained a special Syrian imprint, Milan, relative to the country it came from, and the crossbish pole, which is famous for in many Arab countries, pointing out that these poles tell the stories and customs of peoples.
The peculiarity of the exhibition stemmed from the fact that it coincides with Mother’s Day, and presents the colors of joy during a period of pain experienced by the Syrian people after the catastrophe of the earthquake that Syria was exposed to on the sixth of last February. This was explained by the director of Zawaya Gallery, Rula Suleiman, pointing to the importance of preserving the Syrian heritage through these paintings
And the handicrafts that the German artist worked hard with a group of women through 35 years of artistic work.
It is noteworthy that the German artist Heika Weber has lived in Syria since 1982, where she settled in Old Damascus, and opened her own project based on teaching embroidery. She is currently working on a project to preserve and develop Syrian heritage in this field. She also owns a special book documenting the language of embroidery in the region.
The exhibition continues until the eleventh of this month.
Mahasin Al-Awad and Kenana Ismail
Follow SANA's news on Telegram https://t.me/SyrianArabNewsAgency