Workshop about Syrian mosaic, its history and its significance as one of the oldest and most authentic crafts still practiced in Damascus.
Piece by Piece - Syrian Mosaic Art is a workshop by the artist Khalda Alkhmri took place on Friday 8 November 2019. During the workshop Khalda showed the participants, from the beginning to the end, the works of mosaic and the designing process, so they could make their own unique work, choosing a subject they like, piece by piece using a wide range of materials.
Khalda also also traced the history of the manual crafts industry that goes back 300 hundred years ago. Some of the best landmarks in Damascus are the authentic Damascene houses, Al Azim Palace, House of Nizam and Anbar Bureau. It was a truly beautiful workshop.
Khalda Alkhmri
Khalda is an artist working predominantly in painting. She previously worked as a director and coordinator of programmes for Syrian TV 2005 to 2012, and frequently exhibited her work. Khalda has a Masters degree in Fine Arts from Helwan University in Egypt.
In Jan 2018 she jointly exhibited at Rethink Rebuild Society in Manchester with her sister, Manya.
Khalda is a member of CIWA, a collective of international women artists based in the North-West of England. Between 2017-18 the group of artists met through the Travelling Heritage Bureau project and participated in collective exhibitions and performances at HOME Mcr during Refugee Week, Thread Bearing Witness exhibition at The Whitworth Art Gallery with artist Alice Kettle, A Room of One’s Own at Zellij Arts and Still I Rise at Manchester Art Gallery.
“My art work varies between the expressionist, the symbolic, and the abstract. For me, the work is always preceded by the idea, and is never random. In portraits, I focus on various being states, especially in women. I aim to move the viewer from one state of mind to another and allow for more than one interpretation depending on the viewer.”