“Khatwa” Group celebrates Syrian heritage and popular memory

Through their artistic works, fifteen participants, mostly women whose ages ranged between 16 and 75 years, from the Khatwa group emphasized  Syrian heritage and the revival of popular memory in an art exhibition entitled “Memory and Yasmine”.

The exhibition, hosted by the Arab Cultural Center in Abu Rummaneh, included more than 30 works by professional artists, combining a love of art, heritage and homeland.

The artist, Osama Diab pointed out that the exhibition is the fifth for the Khatwa group, which is held annually for a group of women, housewives, artists and talented people. What distinguished this year’s session was its monitoring of the beauty and civilizational aspects of our Syrian society. It included all the geographical and demographic components of the homeland, including desert, mountain, folklore, clothing and life necessities.

Artist Samah Zarzour participated in two oil works about Damascus, its spirit and popular memory. She  pointed out that caring for heritage means belonging to the homeland ,  noting that Syria is rich in beauty and the plastic artist has to revive it.

Artist Hana Al-Oqla participated in a painting entitled “Drowning”, which was distinguished by its  probing into the depths of man and in its fiery colors, pointing out that she chose this title to express man’s penetration into the details of his small life and his inner life.

Plastic artist, Muhammad Khaddour, noted that he participated in two paintings that he derived from heritage and rural folk memory in the Syrian coast, in addition to a painting about making dishes from straw and the other about pressing olives. He considered that reviving memory means recalling the past and working to revive it.

Sidra Jawad, 16 years old, participated in the exhibition with two paintings on the folk costume in the Circassian heritage. She  indicated that she chose this style to express the diversity of cultures in Syria and to revive the cultural heritage to dedicate all of it into the love of the homeland.

Artist, Hanan Muhammad Ibrahim, participated for the fourth time in the exhibition, with two works of oil on canvas, including folk costumes, to revive popular memory and material and immaterial heritage.

Inas Abdulkareem