N°2 · Qamīs
Exhibitions in DialogueThe Fragility of Knowledge
Maison de l’Artisan, Ain el Mraisseh
28 November 2026 – 2 January 2027With Samer Al Ameen and The Ready Hand, The Fragility of Knowledge brings historical garments and the tools of making into dialogue with Fragments of Dress.
Curatorial Statement
Samer Al Ameen
Preserving the Hands Behind the Heritage
Heritage is not simply what we inherit. It is what we carry forward.
For centuries, textiles and embroidery have embodied the identity, creativity, and collective memory of generations. Behind every stitch lies extraordinary mastery, knowledge refined over centuries and passed from one hand to another.
Today, that chain of transmission is under threat.
A garment may survive for centuries, while the knowledge that created it can disappear within a generation.
This installation highlights the urgency of ensuring that these exceptional skills continue to live.
A structure, eight metres long and three metres high, is wrapped in translucent white gauze, like bandages protecting a wounded heritage. Deliberate tears reveal historic garments, embroidery tools, molds, and hat-making elements. Some emerge clearly; others remain partially concealed, suspended between memory and continuity.
The contrast between the delicate wrapping and the extraordinary craftsmanship within is both a tribute to human ingenuity and a reminder of our responsibility toward its future.
Beyond showcasing historic objects, the installation asks us to recognize the hands, skills, and knowledge behind them.
For heritage does not live in objects alone. It lives through those who continue to create.
We can inherit the stitches of the past.
But who will carry the thread into the future?
Opening Hours
Monday–Saturday: 10:00–18:00
Opening weekend, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November: 10:00–19:00
Closed all other Sundays, 25 December and 1 January.
Find out more: Maison de l’Artisan (Instagram) · The Ready Hand · Dalloul Art Foundation · Dar El-Nimer
Founded in 1962 to support Lebanese craftspeople, Maison de l’Artisan opened its Ain el Mraisseh building in 1968. Designed by CETA, its modernist architecture connects with traditional Lebanese forms. Today, it continues its mission of supporting artisans and transmitting craft knowledge. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
Samer Al Ameen and The Ready Hand — Pascale Habis and Zeina Raphael — lead The Fragility of Knowledge. Bringing together contemporary design and research into artisan practices, they explore how skills pass between generations and what allows a craft to remain alive. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
Nour Naim Majdalani, affectionately known as Minnie, dedicated her life to documenting regional cultural traditions. Garments and tools from her collection, spanning Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, reveal a shared heritage of making. With thanks to her sons, Kamal and Karim Hakim, who care for the collection. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
Built over four decades, the El Nimer Collection spans nearly ten centuries of Islamic art and regional heritage. A selection of garments and textiles brings its rich history of materials, techniques and cultural exchange into dialogue with The Fragility of Knowledge. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
Saleh Barakat has spent more than three decades documenting and promoting modern and contemporary art from Lebanon and the Arab world. Traditional quilts and headpieces from his personal collection reveal craftsmanship rooted in everyday life, carrying knowledge passed between generations. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
Dalloul Art Foundation preserves, researches and promotes modern and contemporary Arab art. For The Fragility of Knowledge, it lends two Palestinian embroidered dresses dating from before 1945. Their patterns and techniques carry cultural histories and knowledge preserved through embroidery. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
The Nada and Al Hareth Haidar Collection brings together handmade garments from the Middle East to the Far East. Each stitch, pattern and construction detail holds traces of the people who made and wore them, inviting a closer look at the skill and memory held in dress. Graphic design: Studio Safar.
Samer Al Ameen with The Ready Hand’s Pascale Habis and Zeina Raphael, leads of The Fragility of Knowledge. Their collaboration brings contemporary design into dialogue with artisan research, exploring the gestures, skills and relationships through which craft knowledge is transmitted.