Camden Art Centre in London published Hopscotch Women's Centre with Aya Haidar, a listing for a participatory project the artist developed with women from the Hopscotch Women's Centre throughout autumn 2022. The centre explains that the group met weekly for collective stitching, sewing and conversation to explore stories of home, migration and family, embroidering their personal stories, histories and journeys onto antimacassars, and unpacking experiences of navigating societal, racial and gender inequity through the process.
The text describes antimacassars as small pieces of cloth placed over the arms or heads of chairs to protect the fabric underneath. They take their name from Macassar oil, a hair oil commonly used by men in the early nineteenth century, and became widespread in Victorian and Edwardian households as washable, decorated covers. Through this symbolic object of protection and repair, and through embroidery as a tool for storytelling, the project created a space to explore notions of personal damage and emotional repair. From 19 to 26 November 2022 the centre opened to the public the space used during the sessions, inviting visitors to take a seat among the antimacassars mapping the women's stories.
The project reflects the socially engaged side of Aya Haidar's practice, which uses stitching on everyday objects to record overlooked stories of migration, memory and domestic life. The London based artist has worked with UP Projects, Kettle's Yard, the V&A and Tate, and was selected for Do It Arab in 2016. She is represented by Tabari.
