Nour Shantout: Searching for the New Dress

Opening 19:00
20:00 live set by Asifeh
21:00 DJ set by Keine West

Searching for the New Dress is a research-based project that looks at Palestinian embroidery in Shatila, a Palestinian camp in Lebanon. It explores how embroidery is influenced by the migration of Syrian Palestinian and Syrian women who took refuge there after the war in Syria. To create ‘New Dresses’ that reflect the socio-political, economic and demographic changes in the embroiderer’s life in the aftermath of the Syrian revolution, I learned to design new motifs and types of stitches which are usually associated with Syrian and Palestinian embroidery. The research also involves interviews with embroiderers in various embroidery centers in Shatila, identifying designs that reflect the changes in Palestinian embroidery. The project asks, what if a ‘New Dress’ emerges after the Syrian revolution, the destruction of the Yarmouk camp – the capital of the Palestinian diaspora –, and the displacement of thousands of Syrians? What would it look like? Which fabric, colors, threads and techniques would be used? Which political slogans and maps would it have?

Asifeh (also known as Stormtrap) is a producer and rapper based between Vienna and Ramallah. His music consists of rap vocals, sampled material, and original compositions using modern and abandoned technologies. https://soundcloud.com/stormtrap

Keine West is an Istanbul-born, Vienna based DJ. She likes to play Grime, UK Garage, and late at night she turns the wheels to Jungle, Footwork, Acid.
https://soundcloud.com/keinewest