Palestinian Thread and Stitches: A Tapestry of Home and Diaspora stitches together the tatreez embroidery of twelve Palestinian women living in Western Australia—diverse in their life histories, yet united by the common thread of identity. The result is a vibrant tapestry of contemporary Palestinian culture.
Common Thread was a collective of creative Palestinian women formed in 2019 in Perth, Western Australia. The collective was dedicated to enriching Palestinian cultural traditions and celebrating the diversity of contemporary Palestinian society, bound together by the shared threads of heritage and identity. I was proud to be one of Common Thread’s founding members.
For the Collective’s first project, and through the Palestinian Community of Western Australia Inc. (PCWA), we applied for a Lotterywest Dream Plan Do grant in 2019. We successfully secured $18,760 to bring the project to life. A community call-out was made for interested participants, and a total of twelve Palestinian women in Perth, including the seven original members of Common Thread, came together to collaborate.
The project centred around a series of community engagement workshops focused on tatreez—the traditional Palestinian embroidery practised for centuries across villages and homes in historic Palestine. Artist and facilitator Sabrina Odeh led the workshops, and each participant was encouraged to explore patterns unique to the Palestinian region their families originated.
Several sessions also included creative writing, facilitated by Dr. Samiha Olwan. These sessions allowed participants to craft written reflections inspired by their embroidery work. The resulting stories, alongside photo documentation and supporting materials, were compiled into a 54-page art catalogue. The publication also featured reflective essays by Sabrina Odeh, Samiha Olwan, Hiba El-Farra, and Samya Jabbour. It was edited by Dr. Samiha Olwan and Samya Jabbour and designed by me. We’ve since received requests for the catalogue from Palestinian women across the global diaspora.
The culmination of the project was an exhibition titled Palestinian Thread and Stitches: A Tapestry of Home and Diaspora, which opened on International Women’s Day (8 March 2020) at Midland Junction Arts Centre, in Midland, Western Australia. The exhibition’s centrepiece was the combined tatreez work of the twelve individual pieces created during the workshops, professionally assembled with the assistance of textile conservator Patricia Moncrieff.
The exhibition also featured:
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A series of photographs documenting the process
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Enlarged reproductions of the twelve tatreez panels
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The twelve individual written pieces displayed alongside their corresponding embroidery
Alongside my role as a participant-artist, I was also responsible for the photographic documentation of the workshops. These images were featured in the published catalogue and printed for display as part of the exhibition.
I also designed the exhibition’s ephemera and merchandise, including:
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Posters and flyers
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Bookmarks and postcards
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Greeting cards and fridge magnets
Media Coverage
“Understorey: Palestinian Threads” – RTRFM 92.1, Perth, March 2020
Podcast with Common Thread members about the cultural and emotional narratives behind the project.
Listen to segment →
“Palestinian Community of WA“ – Community Arts Network, August 2, 2019
News article on the exhibition and the role of embroidery in reclaiming cultural heritage.
Read full article →