The James Simon Gallery is currently hosting a remarkable exhibition titled "Threads of Life on the Nile," featuring stunning tapestries and batik works from Egypt's renowned Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center in Cairo. The exhibition displays dreamlike carpets that capture the essence of Egyptian daily life, with intricate depictions of palms, camels, pyramids, market stalls, fruits, and flowers woven thread by thread into magnificent wall tapestries.
These impressive works originate from the village of Harrania, located near the Pyramids of Giza, where architect Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911-1974) established a school and training center for children and young people from surrounding villages over 70 years ago. The center was designed to revive traditional handicrafts that were gradually disappearing from Egyptian culture. Wassef, who was himself an architect, potter, weaver, and designer, introduced students to the art of weaving as a complement to their formal education.
Suzanne Wissa Wassef, now 75 and the founder's widow, recalls in a video that accompanies the exhibition how her husband encouraged students to let their imagination run free while weaving. He wanted them to develop their ideas without templates or sketches, creating their work directly on the loom. She later introduced pottery and batik art to the training facility, expanding the range of traditional crafts taught at the center.
To this day, the tapestries are crafted on handmade looms using naturally dyed wool and cotton, maintaining the authentic techniques established decades ago. Even the new generations of weavers continue to work without sketches or drawings, allowing their creativity to flow directly onto the loom. Even the most elaborate pieces, which require many months of dedicated work, are created spontaneously and draw inspiration from impressions of Egyptian everyday life.
One notable piece in the exhibition is "Reseda - Cactus" from 2024, created by artist Sabra Saoud, demonstrating how the tradition continues to evolve with contemporary artists. According to Suzanne Wissa Wassef, it was Ramses' wish that young people could develop their imagination completely freely in the protected environment of the studio. "This freedom helped them develop their personality," she explains.
Many of the weavers who trained at the center have continued working there and have developed into individual artists in their own right. Their works have gained international recognition and can now be found in prestigious art museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The exhibition "Threads of Life on the Nile" runs until November 2nd at the James Simon Gallery, located at Bodestraße 1-3. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM, and admission is free with tickets available online.
