Narrative Threads: Palestinian Embroidery in Contemporary Art by Joanna Barakat

For centuries, Palestinian women wrote the stories of their lives and land with a needle and thread. Their embroidery, or tatreez, inspired hundreds of artists who reinterpreted and transformed it into a symbol of Palestinian identity, steadfastness and resistance.

Narrative Threads celebrates the immense beauty and significance of Palestinian embroidery in contemporary art. Joanna Barakat documents and features more than 200 works by twenty-four established and emerging artists, who incorporate the motifs and symbolism of tatreez across diverse media - from painting, sculpture and textile to film, photography and street art. While some artists preserve traditional forms, others transform tatreez to explore themes of displacement, resilience and belonging. Together, their works offer a dynamic reflection on Palestinian heritage and identity.

With insightful essays by leading art historians Dr Tina Sherwell, Wafa Ghnaim and Rachel Dedman, Narrative Threads reveals the power of Palestinian embroidery as a visual language that recounts the past, connects us to the present and envisions a different, hopeful future.

Joanna Barakat is a Palestinian artist and gallery director. After completing her studies at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Barakat became Director of Barakat Gallery in Beverly Hills, London, and Abu Dhabi for six years. Her own multi-disciplinary practice focuses on the Palestinian experience, mixed media, painting and embroidery. Barakat is founder of The Tatreez Circle, an Instagram platform celebrating Palestinian embroidery. Born in Jerusalem and raised in Los Angeles, she currently lives in Abu Dhabi.