In a dazzling array of gold and silver threads, Majal Design School brought the endangered Baalbeki tradition of Tarq embroidery into focus this fall.
Luminous Threads, an exhibition at Beit Kanz organized as part of Creative Dialogues Beirut, highlighted the importance of preserving and documenting tarq embroidery as well as the potential of tarq for current designer markets.
Known for its intricate gold and silver metal threadwork, Tarq is a traditional form of embroidery that has been practiced in Baalbek for generations. Today, the craft is at risk of disappearing as fewer artisans continue to practice and pass on its techniques.
For Majal, the exhibition is part of a broader effort to use design education and research to document traditional crafts and explore their place in contemporary life.
“This exhibition is a result of a year of research, presented as an immersive experience where textile, sound and storytelling converge,” Yasmine Dabbous, Majal cofounder and the exhibition’s curator, explained.
She elaborated on the objective of the exhibition. “Instead of treating Tarq as a craft belonging to the past, we want to embed it in the future to ensure its preservation, hence the exhibition, where magical connections take place between designers and makers and where ideas for future collaborations blossom,” she said.
Majal is presenting the exhibition in collaboration with Creative Dialogues and Sage Archives, combining design, research and archival material to create a record of a tradition that remains part of Baalbek’s cultural identity.
“This project reflects Majal’s wider approach to design as a way of connecting education, cultural research and economic growth,” Pamela Mikhail Daher, Majal marketing manager, said.
Luminous Threads opened at Beit Kanz in October and is scheduled to travel to multiple destinations, connecting with a wider set of artisans and cultures, beyond this point.
Majal Design School houses Lebanon’s first textile design certificate. It promotes a class-to-market approach, helping students reach their potential audiences way before they graduate.
Creative Dialogues, by YVT, is a multidisciplinary platform designed to connect emerging talents, established practitioners, and institutions across the Arab world’s creative industries.
THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY Al-MU7AFFIZ – CULTURAL GRANT OF THE GOETHE-INSTITUT LIBANON