The Living Thread: Sadu Weaving and the Role of Cultural Institutions in Keeping Heritage Alive

The Middle East Institute held a panel conversation exploring how Sadu weaving, a disappearing, centuries-old craft, can thrive and evolve in a contemporary context. How can traditional weaving – practiced by generations of Bedouin women in Kuwait and the Arab Gulf – survive societal change, and what can museums, NGOs, artists and curators do to keep crafts and heritage not just alive, but evolving and relevant to modern society?

The panel built upon themes reflected in MEI’s current exhibition, Beyond the Weave: Contemporary Dialogues with Al Sadu, developed in partnership with Kuwait’s Al Sadu Society, founded to preserve and innovate the Sadu weaving tradition.

The panel brought together Dr. Aminah Alkanderi, a scholar and practicing Sadu weaver; Sumru Krody, Chief Curator at George Washington University’s Textile Museum; and Sahar Almuscati, Program Manager of the Sadu Art & Design Initiative (SADI) at the Al Sadu Society in conversation with MEI’s Vice President of Arts and Culture Kate Seelye.