Join us for ‘Stitch-In for Palestine’, a workshop series where you’ll learn to embroider meaningful motifs.

Tatreez, the centuries-old craft of Palestinian embroidery, is a testament to the richness of Palestinian identity and culture. It began with intricate cross-stitch motifs adorning the linen dresses of Palestinian women and has since expanded to embellish garments, household items, and wall pieces.

This art form, passed down through generations, values slow, intentional stitching over fast-paced, fleeting designs. Our workshop fosters a warm, welcoming community, offering a space to engage in a mindful and healing activity, anchored in the quiet rhythm of needle, thread, and cloth.

Participants will begin by stitching a beginner-friendly motif—a grave or a flower—to honor the departed souls of Palestine. These individual pieces will be gathered to form a public, communal artwork: a shared space of mourning and reflection.

This is a beginner friendly workshop; no prior embroidery experience is required!

About the Instructor:

Joanna Barakat is a visual artist known for her mixed-media artwork combining painting and Palestinian embroidery. She also works across other mediums, such as textile, animation and digital art, to communicate transcendental ideas, challenge collective perceptions and advocate for Palestine through her self-reflective work. Her artwork has been exhibited worldwide, featured in numerous publications, and on the cover of the award-winning poetry book Umbilical Discord. She currently has work in The Lost Paintings: A Prelude to the Return exhibition at MAI in Montreal, Canada, and in SILA – All That is Left to you at the Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah, UAE. Now living in Abu Dhabi, Barakat was born in Jerusalem, raised in Los Angeles and then moved to London for university. She received her BA from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and her MA from SOAS, University of London. Alongside her art practice, she is dedicated to preserving and celebrating Palestinian embroidery through her workshops and on social media through The Tatreez Circle. Barakat is the author of Narrative Threads: Palestinian Embroidery in Contemporary Art (Saqi, 2025).