The Khayamia district in Cairo during Ramadan. (DNE/ Hassan Ibrahim) Though the word may sound unfamiliar, Khayamia is an art form anyone living in Egypt has seen before. Often colourful and reflective of a unique heritage, this uniquely Egyptian way of expressing oneself is both authentic yet surprisingly modern. The Darb 1718 centre for contemporary arts has hosted several quirky workshops and Khayamia is no different; from Origami to scrap materials, some of the centre's workshops have given audiences creative ways of making art from unusual materials, even if it comes at an uncharacteristically high price for a place that is usually free of entry. Darb 1718 is calling for participants in their Khayamia workshop which starts on 14 January. The course will last for three weeks, each Monday and Thursday of the coming weeks, from 6-8pm. Darb explain that Khayamia “is fabric art which is done by adding small pieces of fabric of different colours and material on a bigger piece of fabric to create pieces of art. The small pieces of fabric are placed by hidden stitches using a needle." They continue to explain that there is an area of Cairo called Khayamia where materials for the workshop can be found easily. During the course, participants will learn different stitching techniques taught by Egyptian artist Sabah Salem. The first week will be spent learning how to stitch straight lines and curved lines, the second connecting straight and curved lines and in the final week participants will produce a pillowcase. Instructor Sabah Salem holds a BME from the faculty of engineering at Ain Shams university and also studied pottery for two years at the Faculty of Applied Arts and has participated in group and solo exhibitions from 2007 onwards. The skills learned through this course will come at a price however; the fee for this three week course is EGP 300 and participants are expected to provide their own materials, including needle, thimble and thread, scissors, pencil, coal dust, ruler, canvas and different colours of cotton fabric. Though the registration deadline has already passed, after being pushed to 9 January, Darb 1718 often encourages hopefuls to call and check in any case, in the event of a place or two freeing up.
