SAN DIEGO ARTS : Arts Beat

Habib Ben Yahia, the Tunisian ambassador to the United States, will inaugurate a colorful exhibit of native Tunisian textiles at 7 p.m. Friday at the International Gallery at 643 G Street. Tunisia’s highest ranking diplomat to this country, the ambassador, will receive a mayoral proclamation as part of the cultural exhibit.

The gallery will display more than 150 pieces of functional and ceremonial fabrics, ranging from a woolen Berber tent and decorative rugs to antique velvet and silk head coverings worn by members of wedding parties.

These North African craftsmen make liberal use of red, green, orange, blue and turquoise. The bright colors are like spice for these tribal nomads in the great blandness of the desert, said gallery director Stephen Ross.

“It’s their way of introducing color into their life,” Ross said.