Times shown are in GMT (UTC +0) up to the 26th March. For events on or after 27th March times are in BST (UTC +1).
Corpus Christi College Chapel, Trumpington Street, CB2 1RH
POSTPONED - APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
Join us for a guided walk-through of ‘Threading Memory: Tatreez Transformations’ Across a series of 30-minute tours, between 13:00 – 17:00, visitors will encounter embroidered textiles, portraiture, documentary photography, oral histories, and sound installations. Together, these works create a varied and immersive environment, highlighting personal and collective connections to tatreez and the stories carried within it. The session introduces the artistic and historical contexts of the practice, tracing how techniques, motifs, and meanings shift across time and place. It also offers insight into the contemporary work of Alsama Studio’s artists, whose contributions shape the exhibition’s themes and presentation. This guided walk-through provides an accessible overview of the exhibition and a clear introduction to tatreez as a living and continually adapting art form. About the exhibition ‘Threading Memory: Tatreez Transformations’, invites audiences to explore the rich history and contemporary life of tatreez, the traditional Levantine art of embroidery. Through textiles, photography, sound, and portraiture, the exhibition highlights how this centuries-old practice continues to evolve across changing social and geographic contexts. Co-curated with the artists of Alsama Studio, a grassroots social enterprise based in Beirut’s Shatila refugee camp, the exhibition showcases a collection of embroidered works curated by artisans who sustain and reinterpret tatreez today. Their textiles demonstrate how cultural traditions travel, adapt, and remain dynamic, preserving collective knowledge while opening new possibilities for creative expression and livelihoods. Visitors will encounter a curated selection of embroidery pieces alongside photography, and sound art developed by the Studio. Together, these works illuminate both the artistic processes behind tatreez and the deeply personal relationships the artists sustain with their craft. More than a celebration of textile art, the exhibition explores tatreez as a living cultural practice, one that connects memory, materiality, and community. It invites audiences to reflect on how artistic traditions act as threads linking past and present while continuing to reimagine contemporary creative traditions of tatreez. Tatreez Transformations in Concert is an additional event which is part of this exhibition.
