Christina de Korte - Let the Textile Speak: Egyptian Khayamiya through the Streets of Cairo

This lecture will be hosted on Tuesday, 15 April 2025 at 6:00 pm.

Khayamiya is a textile that is omnipresent in Egypt. The word itself is derived from the Arabic word for tent, namely khayma. Originally, this appliqué technique was mostly used for making hand-sewn tents. Nowadays, khayamiya can also be created using other techniques, such as machine-sewing or (digital) printing.

In addition to, for example, tents in (ritualistic) contexts such as weddings and funerals, khayamiya can be used in various shapes and variations. Especially before and during Ramadan, khayamiya tents and decorations are ubiquitous in the Egyptian streets.

Khayamiya is often framed as a traditional textile from an (art-) historical approach that leaves out the lived experience. The fabric itself is not specifically addressed as religious but seems to have specific usages and meanings that are changing throughout time as a form of popular Islamic culture.

This talk will focus on the technique of khayamiya and its contemporary usages before and during Ramadan. By following the routes of various types of khayamiya through Cairo’s streets and taking courses in the Street of the Tentmakers, Christina de Korte analyses how khayamiya dresses up the city, and invites people to interact with it. This interdisciplinary approach between textiles, heritage, material religion, and (art-) history makes it possible to let the textile speak.

About the speaker

Christina de Korte is a visual artist and a student in the research master’s program in Religious Studies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the HKU University of Arts Utrecht and a bachelor’s degree in Language and Culture Studies from Utrecht University.

Attention!

The lecture starts at 6 pm. The number of seats is limited and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier in case the lecture room reaches its full capacity. This talk will not be recorded nor livestreamed.