Published on 09-11-2022, Last modified on 09-11-2022

Human Rights Week 07/12/22: Presentation of the Exhibition ‘Stitching as a Rights Narrative’ by curator Sofie Verclyte

Traumatic experiences are often difficult to express in verbal language, especially in the context of conflict and displacement. Disruptive life courses may urge towards expression, while at the same time defy expression in (merely) verbal language.

In Shatila, a refugee camp in the South of Beirut, the language of embroidery has been present since its establishment in 1949 to host Palestinian refugees. It is a gendered activity and daily practice rooted in the rich textile in the region. The outbreak of the civil war in neighboring Syria and the influx of new refugees has generated a revival of embroidery practices in the camp. This cultural heritage has several, often new, functions such as bringing to bear visual stories about lived experiences, which often foreground ideas about human rights

The exhibition ‘Stitching as Rights Narrative’ is part of the interdisciplinary research ‘On Migrating Heritage’ at the School of Arts/HOGENT and the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University. It includes embroidered stories of Syrian women living in Shatila and photographs made by Aaron Lapeirre that visualize the (making) context. Through a playful endeavor with materiality, these women recount experiences of harm and loss while imagining a more just future. As such, this exhibition tries to raise awareness of the diversity of human rights narratives and the ‘silent’ voices of these women.

During the Human Rights Week, from 5 to 9 December 2022, the exhibition ‘Stitching as Rights Narrative’ can be visited for free at AMSAB IGS, in the ‘Kleine Vergaderzaal’. Opening hours 9am to 5pm (Bagattenstraat 174 – 9000 – Gent). Free entrance, no registration required.

On Wednesday 7 December 2022 from 18h00 to 19h30 curator Sofie Verclyte will give a presentation of the exhibition followed by a reception. Free entrance. Registration required in this link.