Abu Dhabi, UAE; 2 November 2022: UAE social enterprise 81 Designs and Moroccan artist Bouchra Boudoua will present a collaborative project as Abu Dhabi Art returns to Manarat Al Saadiyat on 16 to 20 November 2022. The fair marks the culmination of a seven-month collaboration that conceived a fusion craft revolutionizing traditional pottery and Tatreez embroidery. Available at CP 8 – Auditorium, the ‘Autumn Harvest’ collection is an exquisite set of embroidered ceramics made with raw elements and sustainable materials. Aimed to preserve Arab heritage through art and unifying cultures across borders, every piece in this bespoke collection is worked on by Bouchra Boudoua, local potters in Morocco, and Palestinian refugee women artisans in Lebanon.
Every year, 81 Designs’ mission is to preserve and modernize Tatreez, an ancient Palestinian embroidery technique, through collaborations with artists from the MENA region. For more information, please contact @81DesignsME on Facebook / Instagram / its official website 81designsme.com.
About 81 Designs
81 Designs is a UAE-based social enterprise that brings both art and humanity together. In 2015, Nesrine El Tibi Maalouf and Nadine Y Maalouf founded 81 Designs with a group of refugee artisan women living in Ain El-Hilweh Camp in South Lebanon. The enterprise’s mission is to showcase their artisanal talents, restore hope in building their future, and preserve and modernise the ancient embroidery technique Tatreez. By providing employment opportunities, 81 Designs empowers and improves social and living conditions of these skilled refugee women. Our collaborations can be viewed on both our social media channels @81DesignsME on Facebook Instagram and official website 81designsme.com.
About Bouchra Boudoua
Bouchra Boudoua graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design with a BA in spatial design. She is an artist and designer based between Marrakech and Casablanca. Bouchra works from her creative studio in Marrakech where she collaborates with local potters to create both functional and decorative ceramics. In an aim to preserve certain age-old techniques of Moroccan craftsmanship she reinterprets traditional pottery to create pieces that simultaneously go back in time and live boldly in our modern-day homes. Her work is largely informed by the graphic information from her daily life in Morocco and from her travels around the country. Bouchra’s artistic practice is also a personal quest and inner search to connect with her roots and those of her ancestors. Always striving to find the balance between craft and design, her work echoes the naïve and simple aesthetic unique to the Moroccan south. Instagram: @bouchraboudoua