Looms & legacy in dawns from eternity
In the past, when women wove, they wove the fabrics of their societies both literally and figuratively. The yarn in their hand symbolised the threads of their culture, and they worked hard on their loom to preserve it. With increased modernisation, traditional crafts are losing their relevance. Some years back, Sadu, the art of Bedouin weaving, faced the same prospect until Sheikha Altaf Salem Al Ali Al Sabah, patron and co-founder of Sadu House, stepped up to preserve, interpret and contemporised this craft for future generations. She turned Sadu House into a museum and cultural hub that acts as a catalyst for Kuwait’s traditional arts and crafts. Sheikha Altaf has unceasingly pursued and explored the continuation of traditional skills, especially of Sadu in Kuwait. Initially led by her and then by her daughter Sheikha Bibi, Sadu House has become an umbrella for the regeneration of crafts and collaboration.
SADI is an ambitious programme envisioned by Al Sadu Society to encourage creativity and innovation in contemporary textile arts and design. Since 2016, groups of local artists from various creative backgrounds are invited to participate in the program and immerse themselves in the beauty and complexities of Sadu weaving and motifs, researching their past, present, and future. The artists’ work is then presented in an annual exhibition at Sadu House for the public. Collaboration is the cornerstone of SADI, a programme that encourages creativity, innovation and cultural exchange. This year in ‘SADI 2021 five emerging artists including Ahmad Al Ajmi, Fatema Al Bader, Razan Al Sarraf, Sheikha Al Habshi, and Fay Al Awadhi explored the intersection of Sadu, connectivity, and modern art through the theme ‘Çonnectivity Through Art’.
Sadi 2021 is organised in a challenging environment in the context of the lockdown and the pandemic, but the organisers and collaborating artists saw it through with the exhibition being launched on May 29. “The uncertainty surrounding government health restrictions definitely made it challenging for us to organise SADI 2021,” shared Sahar Abdalrasoul, Program Manager. “However, the team and artists’ dedication to the program pushed us to adapt quickly and work with the circumstances. Everyone was eager to see SADI come to life.” When asked about the outcome, she says, “We are extremely satisfied with the outcome. Our artists’ hard work paid off, and we’re proud to showcase their pieces at Sadu House. However, this is just the beginning. We see SADI as an important program on a regional — and even global — level, so we look forward to taking this exhibition and others to regional and global cultural hubs.”
As a program, SADI provides participating artists with access to research on different aspects of Kuwait’s weaving heritage for them to rethink a traditional craft in a contemporary way. The outcome this year is interesting. Drawing inspiration from tradition, five young Kuwaiti artists reinterpreted the local and translated it into the universal and contemporary. From Fatema’s watercolour journal collection that shows her growing relation with Sadu, Sheikha Al Habshi’s large-scale gouache painting, inspired by the meditative process of Sadu making, Fay Al Awadhi’s light installation and a series of canvases symbolising the connection between the present and the future with the light installation radiating a sense of optimism in the context of the challenging present, the interactive painting and video installation by Razzan Al Sarraf that tells the story of Kuwait’s past to “Shooting Al-Awirjan” by Ahmad Al Ajmi, an installation that challenges the different forms and meanings of connectivity through an exploration of Sadu motifs, and the way their different shapes and patterns connect from a geometric standpoint — SADI 2021 demonstrates the art of taking an old craft and contemporising it by exploring new expressions of forms, utility, materials, and colors. Arab Times caught up with the artists for their perspectives.