NAGHAM KARAJEH

Gaza- Mosaic is an ancient art made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic. In the Gaza Strip, a group of women work hard to revive the ancient mosaic art in a modern style that shows the reality in Palestine and to highlight the role of women in preserving the cultural heritage.

‘It takes one and a half months to make a mosaic panel’

In a workshop, Amal Al-Maghrabi stands in front of the colored ceramic pieces and chooses the color of the appropriate piece to complete the rest of the painting. “It takes one and a half months to make a mosaic panel,” she told NuJINHA. The deadline for completing all mosaic paintings is the end of July. Actually, we need more time because the length of a mosaic panel is at least three meters, so we work six hours a day. We work hard because we want to be ready for a great exhibition that will be held next January.

‘We focus on specific themes such as freedom, women and children’

Lama al-Akkad, another woman making mosaic paintings in the workshop, said, “We work on ceramics pieces and stones. We cut them using an iron cutter into small cubes. We use adhesives to bond them. Now, we are working on a painting about freedom, women and children,” she told us.

Speaking about the difficulties faced by her while making mosaic paintings, she said, “There are types of stones that cannot be cut due to their hardness. Cutting them in pieces requires strength and a long time.”

‘Making mosaic paintings requires effort and concentration’

Samia Al-Naffar has been interested in art for years. “I love plastic arts and paintings. So, I decided to learn more about mosaic art. After working on mosaic art, I realized that making mosaic paintings requires effort, concentration and a precise visual vision.” Pointing out that they made a big painting showing a woman, who wears a Palestinian embroidered dress, Samia Al-Naffar said, “We aim to highlight the role of women in preserving cultural heritage. Now, we work on new paintings addressing the problems faced by women and children and social issues.”

Nada Al-Habash thinks social issues and women’s issues can be highlighted through plastic arts and mosaic art.

Amal Khudair, director of the Center for Tomorrow's Builders, said that the center works to provide opportunities to women and girls so that they improve their skills. “After learning everything about making mosaic paintings, they can start their own projects. In Palestine, mosaic art was practiced hundreds of years ago. We aim to preserve our cultural heritage by teaching women and girls how to make mosaic paintings and panels.”