Art She Crafted is an Ellae programme that celebrates heritage and makers who have long remained unseen and undervalued. Makers of the first-generation diaspora bring with them a host of traditions, knowledge and art forms. In a unique collaboration between the Ellae Foundation and Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, our exhibition ‘Talking Threads’ is showcasing the exceptional artistic work of Saida Bennoude Azzabi.
For spiritual reasons, Saida Bennoude Azzabi chooses anonymity as a form of agency, using photo embroidery to anonymise herself in photographs. For the exhibition, she printed a childhood portrait on linen and embroidered directly onto the image, using thread and pixels to explore way of combining her art with Tarz-Fessi via a new medium, in this case photography.
In ‘Art She Crafted’ we are celebrating making and art, and also heritage and makers, that have long remained unseen and undervalued. Makers of the first-generation diaspora bring with them a host of traditions, knowledge and art forms. Saida Bennoude Azzabi is a maker and artist who over the course of 60 years has built up a large private Tarz-Fessi archive that now has great historical importance.
Saida Bennoude Azzabi does not sell her work. She is building her archive for her family, and is sharing her work with the public for the first time at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam. Watch as she tells her story in her own words.
Wereldmuseum Rotterdam t