Atelier Jameel and Bayt Yakan partner to deliver traditional arts and crafts summer programme in support of Al-Darb Al-Ahmar community

Atelier Jameel, a new initiative by Community Jameel dedicated to supporting alumni of the Jameel House of Traditional Arts in Cairo, is partnering with Bayt Yakan, an arts collective centred on the eponymous traditional house in historic Cairo, to deliver a summer programme spanning 15 workshops to 100 women, youth and children in the neighbourhood of Al-Darb Al-Ahmar.

The programme is led by Ola Said, co-founder of Bayt Yakan as well as an alumna and tutor at the Jameel House in Cairo. The workshops will be delivered by Jameel House alumni Reham Wahba, Hoda Haron, Hagar Abdel Hay, Omnia Hosni, Nourhan el-Kady, Amal Mostafa, Nada el Murshidi, Amira al-Qady, Areej Niazi, Iman Ramadan, Aya Soliman and Zahraa Abdel Alim. The Jameel House in Cairo is a collaboration between The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, Community Jameel and Egypt’s Cultural Development Fund.

The three-month programme will run from 1 June 2024 through to 7 September 2024 and will comprise 15 workshops for women, youth and children at the junior and advanced levels. The participants will also have two site visits to the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo and Al-Mu’izz Street. The programme is free and open to all, with sessions held at Bayt Yakan. The workshops will include geometric 3D shapes, floral patterns, Arabic calligraphy, colour harmony, pottery making, gypsum moulds and ceramic tiles, gypsum carving, stone carving, wood veneer, wood inlay, wood carving, brass engraving, brass cutting, stencil prints and notebook making. The programme will end with a closing ceremony and exhibition open to participants as well as family and friends.

The summer programme aims to provide free, extracurricular opportunities for the community of Al-Darb Al-Ahmar to explore the traditional arts and to engage with the rich heritage of Historic Cairo. Workshops will draw on the architectural features of the historic buildings in the neighbourhood and introduce traditional approaches to design and making to participants.

This year’s programme follows a winter collaboration with Bayt Yakan in 2024 and a previous summer programme held in Fayoum in 2019. Alumni of the Jameel House in Cairo also collaborated with Megawra, a creative hub, to support children in Al-Khalifa neighbourhood in Historic Cairo in 2017.