The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts and the Embassy of Mexico in Jordan will inaugurate the art exhibition “From natural dye to brush strokes” by artist Maddalena Forcella.

She began her career as an art restorer and in 1987, moved to Mexico City to study interior design. She later founded a textile workshop in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. There, she pioneered in the introduction of new designs and the production of traditional textiles, using only natural dyes

The artist has extensive experience working throughout Mexico with weavers and artisans. She has been devoted to the empirical dye-process and has deepened her search by experimenting with different textures, using various techniques and materials. Plants, bark, flowers and insects enable her to create an unlimited spectrum of colours, hues and saturations

Since then, she has been devoted to the empirical dye-process and has deepened her search by experimenting with different textures, using various techniques and materials. The artist’s work has been exhibited in the most prestigious textile museums of China, England, Lebanon, Poland, Turkey, the United States

On the sidelines of the exhibition, the National Museum and the Embassy of Mexico, in collaboration with UNESCO Jordan, will organize a workshop on natural dyes, conducted by a community based organization of Jordan Valley women (Safi Craft). The workshop aims to teach natural dyeing techniques to the participants and invite them to dye their own scarf, as part of UNESCO project to revive an also Jordanian tradition and empower Jordanian women by reintroducing natural dyeing in Jordan

This event is part of the efforts of the Government of Mexico, to promote its diverse culture and strengthen the bonds of friendship with Jordan, a country with which we share the responsibility to preserve world heritage and ancient cultural traditions