Seif El Rashidi, The Tapestries of Harrania
Seif El Rashidi’s new book on the tapestries made at Harrania, Egypt, from 1952 to the present is the first major publication on one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable experiments in creativity and education.
The project began more than 70 years ago when the celebrated Egyptian architect, Ramses Wissa Wassef, wondered what would happen if the natural creativity that all people are born with was allowed to develop unchecked by traditional education or market forces and undirected by others. To this end, he opened a tapestry centre for the children in a rural village near Cairo. The children, who were between 8 and 11 years old, both boys and girls, Muslims and Copts, were shown how to make a tapestry on a rudimentary loom but were not directed by adults or encouraged to look at works of art. Instead, they had total artistic freedom and the result was the astonishing blossoming of an innate creativity which continues to this day.
Many of those children chose to make tapestries all their lives and two, who are now in old age, are still at the centre. In the early 1970s the first generation was joined by a second, all of whom started as children. And like the earlier group, most of them stayed into adulthood and still work there. The tapestries of both generations have been exhibited in and collected by museums throughout the world.
Seif El Rashidi’s new book on the tapestries made at Harrania, Egypt, from 1952 to the present is the first major publication on one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable experiments in creativity and education.
The project began more than 70 years ago when the celebrated Egyptian architect, Ramses Wissa Wassef, wondered what would happen if the natural creativity that all people are born with was allowed to develop unchecked by traditional education or market forces and undirected by others. To this end, he opened a tapestry centre for the children in a rural village near Cairo. The children, who were between 8 and 11 years old, both boys and girls, Muslims and Copts, were shown how to make a tapestry on a rudimentary loom but were not directed by adults or encouraged to look at works of art. Instead, they had total artistic freedom and the result was the astonishing blossoming of an innate creativity which continues to this day.
Many of those children chose to make tapestries all their lives and two, who are now in old age, are still at the centre. In the early 1970s the first generation was joined by a second, all of whom started as children. And like the earlier group, most of them stayed into adulthood and still work there. The tapestries of both generations have been exhibited in and collected by museums throughout the world.
Seif El Rashidi’s new book on the tapestries made at Harrania, Egypt, from 1952 to the present is the first major publication on one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable experiments in creativity and education.
The project began more than 70 years ago when the celebrated Egyptian architect, Ramses Wissa Wassef, wondered what would happen if the natural creativity that all people are born with was allowed to develop unchecked by traditional education or market forces and undirected by others. To this end, he opened a tapestry centre for the children in a rural village near Cairo. The children, who were between 8 and 11 years old, both boys and girls, Muslims and Copts, were shown how to make a tapestry on a rudimentary loom but were not directed by adults or encouraged to look at works of art. Instead, they had total artistic freedom and the result was the astonishing blossoming of an innate creativity which continues to this day.
Many of those children chose to make tapestries all their lives and two, who are now in old age, are still at the centre. In the early 1970s the first generation was joined by a second, all of whom started as children. And like the earlier group, most of them stayed into adulthood and still work there. The tapestries of both generations have been exhibited in and collected by museums throughout the world.
About the author
Seif El-Rashidi is the Director of the Barakat Trust, London, which supports and promotes the study and preservation of Islamic art, heritage, architecture and culture for the future. He has been a technical reviewer for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s heritage projects since 2013, and was on the World Monuments Fund Project Selection Committee for 2019. He is an advisory member of the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund.
His other publications include The Tentmakers of Cairo: Egypt’s Medieval and Modern Appliqué Craft (AUC Press, 2018), which he co-wrote with Sam Bowker.
Publication: Autumn 2025