Material Power exhibition

The celebrated Material Power exhibition has transferred from Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge to the Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester.

Do see it if you possibly can!

The Whitworth says of the exhibition: “Material Power charts the evolution of embroidery in Palestine over the past century: from rich village tradition, transformed by modernity, to its politicisation in the 1970s and commodification in the present. Over the last 75 years, embroidery has become a powerful symbol of resistance, and the embodiment of resilience on personal and national scales. On display in the UK for the first time in over 30 years, historical dresses sit alongside the voices of women who continue to embroider today, and the work of contemporary artists critically reinterpreting the practice. Material Power seeks to unfold an intimate, human history of Palestine through clothing.”

Syrian and Palestinian embroidery share the same techniques and many of the same motifs. We can see similar processes of the expression of identity, longing for home, and resistance in both. We cannot recommend this exhibition highly enough.

The exhibition will be open from 24 November 2023 to 7 April 2024.