A unique artistic experience for visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai

“House of the Hammour” .. Threads, papers and nets that mimic sustainability

  • Sewing threads.. Works that embody marine creatures and coral reefs.

    Photography: Patrick Castello

  • Ahmed Al-Enezi: “The event has additional importance, because it sheds light on an aspect of the local heritage.”

  • Masoud Al Bastaki: "There will be an artistic project, each month, supervised by one of the participants."

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Bait Al Hamour will provide a unique artistic experience for visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai, by simulating the artworks that will be displayed in it, to the concept of communication with the world and sustainability and its challenges.

The house, which was announced yesterday at the gallery "The Jam Jar" in Dubai, will tell the story of marine life in the Emirates, where colors and artistic media are discussed in its corridors, and sewing threads, papers and nets are transformed into works that embody marine creatures and coral reefs.

Bait Al Hamour will present works of art woven from threads and other multimedia works.

Including a mural that school students worked on, displaying, through textiles, depicting marine life, through the technique of "batik" and sustainable dyes.

It will also display the grouper fish, by Australian artist Sue Ryan, made of nets called “ghost nets”, which are the fishing nets abandoned in the sea.

The experience of "Beit Al Hamour" does not stop at the presentation of artworks, as there will be a creative program that attracts the public, including daily workshops and a program to introduce knitting.

The workshops will be run by a group of UAE-based artists.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to contribute to an ever-growing piece of art, in the form of coral reefs.

Music occupies a place within the daily program of "Beit Al-Hamour", where musical evenings will be held in cooperation with the Musical Arts Center, and the center's students will play a piece composed specifically for "Beit Al-Hamour".

Senior Vice President of Culture and Arts at Expo 2020 Dubai, Dr. Hayat Shams El Din, said that "Bait Al Hamour" embodies the Expo's slogan: Connecting minds and making the future, which links creativity and participation, and aims to bring society together with its various segments to build awareness and enable work. In order to meet our biggest challenges from a technical point of view.

The Senior Director of Arts and Culture, Ahmed Al-Enezi, stated that "the House seeks to link the hubs and members of the community, thus facilitating communication between the two sides, in order to form a deeper understanding of sustainability issues."

He added that "the event bears great importance as it also sheds light on an aspect of the local heritage, as it works to find a formula for communication between the cultures of the world, which is what society needs at the present time. There is a need to reconsider the concept of culture and heritage," pointing to This event contributes to redefining heritage in a contemporary way, by reformulating it.

Al-Enezi stressed that "(Expo) deals with many environmental issues and the concept of sustainability, from a creative angle," adding that "visitors will learn about the concepts presented by (Expo) with a longer stay in the exhibition."

On the other hand, the Director of the Department of Culture and Arts, Alia Al Hammadi, stated that "the Department of Culture presents many projects, but Beit Al Hamour highlights sustainability, and that is why it can be said that it will be one of the events that attract visitors."

For his part, the Executive Director of Kraft Middle East, Masoud Al Bastaki, stated that "the concepts of sustainability, innovation and communicating minds can be presented by knitting with threads in a distinct artistic way. .

He stressed that "every month there will be an artistic project, supervised by one of the participants, and there will be a type of knitting that does not require previous experience in this field, and marine creatures will be sewn daily."

Al Bastaki pointed out that "the craft of weaving is coming back to life strongly, and is no longer directed to the elderly only, but has become a hobby that is shared through social media, and this in itself gives one a sense of accomplishment." As for the threads that were used in the workshops and in the manufacture of marine creatures Al-Bastaki explained that "some of them are environmentally friendly yarns", stressing the reliance on other types of yarns that are necessary in building shapes.

A group of women participated in the manufacture and weaving of sea creatures and coral, and Magda Kabariti, who supervised the work, said that "creating marine shapes carries many challenges because the process of weaving is interesting and new techniques have been invented to accomplish it."

Inspirational stories

“Beit Al Hamour” tells stories that simulate sustainability and celebrate the world of the seas, including the story of “One Thousand and One Nights,” about Abdullah the Sayad and the mermaid. The story begins when the fisherman establishes a friendship with the mermaid, gets acquainted with life in the depths of the ocean, and realizes that fish are not a source of food. Not only are they living beings that are subject to complex social systems and orders, similar to those to which humans are subject on land.

The story carries in its details many dimensions about the importance and diversity of marine life.

“The House” will display a model of a grouper fish made of “ghost nets” discarded in the sea.

Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to contribute to an ever-growing piece of art in the form of coral reefs.

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