Moroccan Geometry: Zellij Tiles in Marrakech

Moroccan Geometry: Zellij Tiles in Marrakech

By The Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation, Birmingham

In this geometry workshop, we'll track the development of architecture in Marrakech before constructing a stylish zellij pattern!

Date and time

Location

MIAH Gallery (at Moseley Community Hub), 496 Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 9AH, UK

496 Moseley Road Balsall Heath B12 9AH United Kingdom

Good to know

Highlights

  • 2 hours
  • In person

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 7 days before event

About this event

Join us at the MIAH gallery for an exploration of all things Moroccan geometry! Architecture in the Maghreb region took a different path to the rest of the Muslim world, influenced by Byzantine and Visigothic architecture as well as more traditional Muslim designs. The prominent use of colourful zellij tiles is an important part of architecture in the region, especially Morocco - a stylish feature that was not prominent in any other area in the Muslim world.

In this session, we will first track the development of architecture in Morocco, specifically focussing on Marrakech. Interestingly, the development of architecture in Morocco is quite linear - there is a straight line from the buildings of the early Idrisid dynasty to the current Alawi Kingdom. We will follow this up by creating a zellij-style pattern of our own!

In each of our sessions, we will take you through an intermediate geometry pattern using a pencil, ruler and compass. These sessions are aimed at people 16+, and at least some prior use of a compass may be useful (although every effort will be taken to make these sessions accessible to all, the patterns may prove slightly challenging to those completely new to geometry). We aim to have a completed pattern by the end of each session, which can optionally be painted (if there is time) for a beautiful, complete artwork to take home!

All materials will be provided, and we look forward to you joining us!

You may find this video useful to practice your skills in advance: Essential Geometry Skills - YouTube

Tickets: £7.50 (+ticket fees)

IMAGE REF: Ben Youssef Madrasa; إيان

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£8.83
Sep 6 · 1:00 PM GMT+1