How has the female body been represented in different cultures and periods? What ideas about femininity, power and identity do these images carry—and how might we reinterpret them today?

In this workshop, artist Hoda Tawakol invites participants to explore these questions by creating their own textile figures. Drawing on her sculptural practice, the workshop considers the goddess as a form through which to examine inherited images of femininity and develop new ones.

Tawakol will introduce ancient Egyptian goddesses, prehistoric figurines and photographs of her three mothers—her mother Honey, her grandmother Toutou, and Hosneia, who cared for her from early childhood—, reflecting on how these references inform her work. She will also discuss her use of textiles to explore the body, memory and maternal relationships.

Participants will then work with small fabric figures, sewing, wrapping and transforming them using fabrics, beads, sequins, and other materials. Personal memories, cultural references and formal experimentation will shape each figure. Participants are welcome to bring a piece of fabric, photographs, a small object or another material that holds personal meaning and that they would like to incorporate into their figure.

The workshop offers an introduction to Tawakol’s practice and a shared space for making and exchanging ideas. No previous sewing or crafting experience is needed. The workshop is limited to 15 participants and will be accompanied by cake and warm drinks.

Hoda Tawakol

Hoda Tawakol is a visual artist who lives and works in Hamburg. Her work explores diasporic identity, gender roles, matriarchy, and the body as a site of memory and transformation. Born in London in 1968 to Egyptian parents, she grew up in Frankfurt and Paris, France. She earned an MBA in International Management from EAP-ESCP in 1993, studying in Paris, Oxford and Berlin. From 2006 to 2011, Tawakol studied at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) under Professor Andreas Slominski. In 2010, she received a merit-based scholarship from the Hamburg Ministry of Science and Research. In 2022, she was an artist-in-residence at the Goethe-Institut in Marseille. In 2024, she received a publication grant from the Kunstfonds Foundation, supporting the production of her first monograph, »Some Ties Linger On« (Kerber Verlag).

Hoda Tawakol’s works have been exhibited at numerous institutions and galleries in Germany, including the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt; the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin; the Museum Gunzenhauser in Chemnitz; the Weserburg Museum of Modern Art in Bremen; the Dortmunder Kunstverein, the Kunstverein Hamburg; the Kunsthaus Hamburg; and the Sfeir-Semler Gallery in Hamburg and Beirut, Libanon. Internationally, her art has also been on view at SAMOCA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar; at Gallery Isabelle in Dubai, UAE; at Villa Romana in Florence, Italy; and at the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, USA. Her works are held in numerous collections, including the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation (SHF), Abu Dhabi, UAE; the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority Collection, UAE; the iSelf Collection, London, UK; the Naila Collection, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the Progressive Art Collection, USA; Open Space Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey, and London, UK; the Haus N Collection, Kiel; the Weserburg Museum Collection, Bremen; and in public spaces as part of Chemnitz’s designation as European Capital of Culture 2025.

hodatawakol.com

Artist Workshop: 05.12.2026, 2 – 5 PM, with Hoda Tawakol

Venue: M.Bassy e.V., Schlüterstraße 80, 20146 Hamburg
Participation free of charge (incl. drinks & snacks)
Language: German & English
Please reserve via: reservation@m-bassy.org

The Artist Workshop is part of the accompanying program of the exhibition »Hoda Tawakol: Falling Tide« (run time until 20.12.2026).

We would like to thank the Henry Moore Foundation henry-moore.org, the Liebelt Stiftung, Hamburg and the Ministry of Culture and Media, Hamburg for their generous funding and support of the exhibition project.