Embroiderers of Actuality — portraits on show
Cairo — encounters along the way
Exiled Homes — embroidering together
Embroiderers of Actuality — embroidery and memory
Embroiderers of Actuality — textile work on show
Embroiderers of Actuality — installation view

Embroideryas storytelling

Discover the project ↓Embroiderers of Actuality — portraits on show
01 / 06
01The project✳

Embroidery as a
space for encounter.

Embroiderers of Actuality is a transdisciplinary, participatory art project started in 2013 by Aglaia Haritz and Abdelaziz Zerrou. Born in Cairo, it has grown over the years through encounters, residencies, collaborations and processes of collective creation in Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Malta and Switzerland.

At the heart of the research is embroidery, understood not only as a textile technique or a craft, but as an artistic language, a means of communication and a way of creating relationships between individuals, cultures and different social contexts.

Read more about the project ↗
02Works and traces

The matter
of stories.

From gesture to artwork.
Seven places, eight chapters:
surfaces, objects and voices.

Loading the works…

Explore the video archive ↗
03NewsThe research continues

Embroidery as a
storytelling.

Mani che ricamano su un tamburo: linee blu e rosse su un tessuto bianco
«Il ricamo come narrazione» workshop at LAC, Lugano. © LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura
Chapter 08Lugano, Switzerland

At LAC, refugees and local residents come together around embroidery. Lived or invented stories take shape in the fabric.

The 2026/27 season programme continues the project’s Lugano chapter. Dates and how to take part are available on the LAC website.

LAC programme 2026/27 ↗

Past news

  1. Ricami di vita. Intrecciare storie in biblioteca

    Cantonal Library, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    30 May 2026

    Read the text and the programme

  2. Woher die Bilder kommen (Where images come from)

    Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, Switzerland

    15 June – 6 July 2019

    Poster and information

  3. Parcours Humain Bern

    Tramdepot Burgernziel, Bern, Switzerland

    28 May – 26 June 2016

    Poster and information

  4. Laboratoire de la mondialité

    Marrakech Biennale 6, 187 Rue Riad Laarouss, Marrakech, Morocco

    26 February – 8 May 2016

    Poster and information

  5. ARA Residency — Open Studio

    Art Residence Aley, Aley, Lebanon

    Open studio: 30 April 2015, 6–10 pm

    Poster and information

  6. The Subversion of the Sensible

    Fabbrica del Vapore, Sala delle colonne, Milan, Italy

    5 December 2014 – 11 January 2015

    Poster and information

  7. Dar Al-Ma’mûn Artists Residency

    Km 13 route de l'Ourika, Marrakech, Morocco

    15 May – 15 July 2014

    Poster and information

  8. Institut français de Casablanca

    121, Bd Zerktouni, Casablanca, Morocco

    Residency from 1 March to 15 April 2014

    Poster and information

  9. Lokal-Int

    Lokal-Int, Hugistrasse 3, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland

    Opening: Thursday 20 February 2014, 7 pm

    Poster and information

  10. Embroiderers of Actuality

    Le Cube – Independent Art Room, Rabat, Morocco

    Private view: Tuesday 28 January 2014, 6.30 pm

    Poster and information

  11. Embroiderers of Actuality

    Dokkan Space – Artellewa, Ard El Lewa, Giza, Egypt

    Opening: 5 December 2013, 7–10 pm

    Poster and information
04The artistsA shared practice since 2013
Abdelaziz Zerrou and Aglaia HaritzEmbroiderers of Actuality

Aglaia Haritz

A Swiss artist who grew up in Vira Gambarogno, Aglaia Haritz graduated from ENSA Limoges. Her practice includes embroidery, work with materials and research in social contexts. The time of the gesture and the relationship between the body and the support run through her work.

Since 2013 she has developed Embroiderers of Actuality with Abdelaziz Zerrou. She has lived in Berlin and Zurich and taken part in residencies in Europe and the Mediterranean. Since 2017 she has worked at LAC on accessibility and inclusion, collaborating in particular with MASI. Her training includes humanistic art therapy at IHK Zurich.

Visit the artist’s website ↗

Abdelaziz Zerrou

Born in Casablanca in 1982, Abdelaziz Zerrou is a Swiss-Moroccan transdisciplinary artist who graduated from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Tétouan. He lives and works between Casablanca and Vira Gambarogno. His practice includes video, installation, sculpture and drawing, with particular attention to symbols, graphic representation and the relationship between language, history and collective memory.

His work with communities connects local issues with wider contexts. Since 2013 he has developed Embroiderers of Actuality with Aglaia Haritz. He has exhibited at venues including the Mohammed VI Museum in Rabat, New Art Exchange in Nottingham and in Lugano. His residencies include Dar Al Ma’mûn and the Cité internationale des arts in Paris.

Visit the artist’s website ↗
05ResidenciesPlaces of research

Selected residencies and workshops

Residencies are part of the journey of Embroiderers of Actuality: time for work, encounters and relationships with local contexts.

  1. European Capital of Culture

    Valletta, Malta

    2017–2018

  2. ARA Residency — Open Studio

    Art Residence Aley, Aley, Lebanon

    Open studio: 30 April 2015, 6–10 pm

  3. Dar Al-Ma’mûn Artists Residency

    Km 13 route de l'Ourika, Marrakech, Morocco

    15 May – 15 July 2014

  4. Institut français de Casablanca

    121, Bd Zerktouni, Casablanca, Morocco

    Residency from 1 March to 15 April 2014

  5. Le Cube – Independent Art Room

    2, rue Benzerte, Rabat, Morocco

    3 – 31 January 2014

  6. Artellewa Independent Art Space

    Ard El Lewa, Giza, Egypt

    December 2013

06ExhibitionsWorks in public space

Selected exhibitions

Exhibitions bring together textile works, images, video and sound, carrying the traces of these encounters to new audiences.

  1. Daniele Agostini Gallery

    Lugano, Switzerland

  2. Woher die Bilder kommen (Where images come from)

    Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, Switzerland

    15 June – 6 July 2019

  3. Kunst(Zeug)Haus

    Rapperswil, Switzerland

  4. Spazio 1929

    Lugano, Switzerland

  5. Parcours Humain Bern

    Tramdepot Burgernziel, Bern, Switzerland

    28 May – 26 June 2016

  6. Laboratoire de la mondialité

    Marrakech Biennale 6, 187 Rue Riad Laarouss, Marrakech, Morocco

    26 February – 8 May 2016

  7. The Subversion of the Sensible

    Fabbrica del Vapore, Sala delle colonne, Milan, Italy

    5 December 2014 – 11 January 2015

  8. Lokal-Int

    Lokal-Int, Hugistrasse 3, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland

    Opening: Thursday 20 February 2014, 7 pm

  9. Embroiderers of Actuality

    Le Cube – Independent Art Room, Rabat, Morocco

    Private view: Tuesday 28 January 2014, 6.30 pm

  10. Embroiderers of Actuality

    Dokkan Space – Artellewa, Ard El Lewa, Giza, Egypt

    Opening: 5 December 2013, 7–10 pm

07PressPress review

The project
through the eyes of others.

Articles, interviews and contributions about Embroiderers of Actuality.

Sources and further reading

08PublicationsSeven texts, seven perspectives

Writing
the encounters.

Essays, stories and words about the project.
Seven independent texts,
to read in English.

09Partners and collaborationsA network of encounters

Partners and collaborations

Institutions, associations and organisations that have accompanied the journey of Embroiderers of Actuality.

10ContactNew conversations

Every encounter
begins with
a word.

For an exhibition, a collaboration,
a research project or a simple question.

Abdelaziz Zerrou
Embroiderers of Actuality

Write to us here. The message is sent directly from the form.

Form fields are not stored by the website.

Embroiderers of Actuality

Credits and sources

A project by Aglaia Haritz and Abdelaziz Zerrou, started in 2013.

Texts and reproductions of the works: Italian dossier and the Haritz and Zerrou project archive. Captions keep the documentary references. The two installation views are photographs by Nico Schaerer.