Haṣīra (حصیرة): Framing and Unframing
Drawn from the Arabic word haṣīra (حصیرة), meaning a portable, adaptable woven mat the haṣīra is able to turn any ground into a place for sitting, meeting, hosting, mourning, celebrating, striking, and gathering. Its root ح-ص-ر (h-ṣ-r) means to frame, to enclose, to define limits. In Palestine and across the Arab world, the haṣīra frames territory, creates a room without walls, and declares: Here we host. Here we belong for as long as we are here.
To frame is to make a space, to lay the haṣīra (حصیرة) and call others in. To unframe is to refuse the limits imposed on where, how, and why we gather. Each time the haṣīra (حصیرة) is unrolled, it becomes as concrete as the ground it rests on. Light enough to carry under one arm, it adapts to each terrain, moves freely, and transforms spaces without waiting for permission. This adaptability is not just practical, it is political allowing gatherings to unfold in places where formal architecture is absent or denied.
As part of the collaboration with Think+DO Tank Foundation, the program will see 4 formal sessions where participants will gather on haṣīra laid on public space on unceded Aboriginal Land, where people of different geographies speak to one another through facilitated discussion and where grief, refusal, joy, and co-struggle can be shared.
DAAR – Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti: Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney and Rubaiya Qatar, Qatar Museums Authority with generous support from Alserkal Arts Foundation.
Photos by Benjamin Tiger La / My Tiger Productions