Threads of Life Along the Nile: The Art of Ramses Wissa Wassef on Display in Berlin
From April 11 to November 2, 2025, the upper floor of Berlin’s James-Simon-Galerie Museum will host the special exhibition “Threads of Life Along the Nile”, presented by the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, in collaboration with the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center in Cairo. The exhibition, with free admission, showcases a selection of tapestries and batiks created at the artistic center founded by Ramses Wissa Wassef, a pivotal figure in 20th-century Egyptian art and design. The vividly colorful and symbolically rich works transport visitors into the rural daily life of Egypt, narrating handwoven stories and highlighting the unique techniques of an artisanal tradition that continues to thrive and evolve.
LEFT: Red sea corals & fish, 2024, Nagah Sayed (1977), Wool, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt; RIGHT: Dancing birds, Saiid Ibrahim, Batik, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt
A Life Between Art, Architecture, and Tradition
Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911–1974) was a multifaceted figure in 20th-century Egyptian art: an architect, designer, ceramicist, and weaver. Born in Cairo, he studied architecture in France, where he encountered modernist movements but never lost his deep connection to the artisanal and cultural roots of his homeland. Upon returning to Egypt, he developed an architectural language that was both essential and organic, in harmony with local materials and contexts. However, it was with the founding of the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center in 1952, in the village of Harrania, that he left his most enduring legacy: a visionary project blending art, education, and cultural identity, destined to inspire generations of young artists.
LEFT: Reseda & Cactus, 2024, Sabra Saoud (1977– ), Wool, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt; RIGHT: Birds in the garden, 2021, Gehan Rezk, Cotton, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt
Located in the village of Harrania, just steps away from the majestic pyramids of Giza, the center was founded with the goal of reviving and preserving traditional artisanal techniques that were at risk of disappearing, overwhelmed by industrial progress and a fading cultural memory. Ramses Wissa Wassef firmly believed that genuine creativity could only emerge in an environment free from aesthetic or academic constraints. For this reason, the center offered local children and young people not only a physical space to work, but also a symbolic refuge where their imagination could grow freely and intuitively. Each loom became an extension of their gaze upon the world, and every woven thread a personal and collective narrative rooted in the everyday life of Egypt.
The garden, 2022, Gehan Rezk, Cotton, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt
Expressive Language
The artistic process developed by Wissa Wassef was based on a set of radical principles: no preparatory sketches, no copying, and no interference from adults. Young weavers were taught directly at the loom, developing a personal style through hands-on experience with materials and close observation of the world around them. The works, made of wool and cotton dyed with natural pigments, were created in a single, uninterrupted creative flow and were often inspired by scenes of daily life, nature, animals, and the simple gestures of everyday existence. Starting in 1965, the center also introduced the batik technique, further expanding the expressive tools available to the young artists. Wissa Wassef’s vision was clear: to prove that human creativity is innate and can flourish even without academic training, as long as it is nurtured with freedom and trust.
LEFT: Reseda & Cactus, 2024, Sabra Saoud (1977– ), Wool, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt; RIGHT: Prayers to the sun, 1976, Ali Seliem (1948– ), Wool, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt;
Curatorship
The curatorial vision of the exhibition “Threads of Life Along the Nile” fully embraces this spirit: it not only celebrates the work of a visionary artist and educator but also places at its core an educational and aesthetic model that values intuition, craftsmanship, and authenticity. Curated by Friederike Seyfried, Ilona Regulski, and Jessica Knebel, the exhibition engages in a contemporary dialogue on the significance of tradition and artisanal practices in a world increasingly dominated by the digital. The works on display tell stories of cultural resistance and creative freedom, offering the public a vivid testament to the poetic power of the “threads of life” woven along the Nile.
LEFT: Felukas on the Nile, Saber Saiid, Batik, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt; RIGHT: The fields, 2002, Mahrous Abdou (1963– ), Wool, © Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre, Cairo, Egypt
In recent years, the work of Ramses Wissa Wassef has received renewed international attention. Major museum institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London have exhibited and acquired pieces from his center. Furthermore, travelling exhibitions across Europe and the United States have helped to highlight his educational and artistic approach as a pioneering example of sustainability, social inclusion, and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
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