More than embroidery: the stories woven into Tatreez

For those separated from their homeland, a needle and thread can become a way of holding on to home.

Tatreez, the Arabic word for embroidery, is far more than a decorative art form. Passed down from mother to daughter for generations, it has long served as a visual language of identity and belonging among Palestinian women, with designs shaped by the communities and regions they came from.

The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) explores this tradition in “Tatreez: Reclaiming Palestine through Embroidery”, which runs until April 25. Open to the public with museum admission, the exhibition seeks to preserve and spotlight a cultural heritage at risk of being lost.

Divided into two galleries, it takes visitors from contemporary interpretations of Palestinian embroidery to traditional garments and artefacts representing 10 regions across Palestine.

Special Gallery 1 displays an array of thobes, or traditional garments, embroidered by artisans from the Association for the Development of Palestinian Camps (Inaash).

Here, traditional motifs and regional styles are given a contemporary touch while remaining rooted in Palestinian heritage and identity.

The garments carry with them the history of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Following mass displacement, refugee communities living in camps faced difficult conditions and limited employment opportunities, leaving many families dependent on aid.

Inaash was founded in 1969 by Huguette Bechara El Khoury in response to those circumstances. For more than five decades, the organisation has provided income and employment to displaced Palestinians through embroidery, while helping preserve skills passed from one generation to the next.

The result is a collection that sits between tradition and contemporary expression, balancing modern design with cultural continuity.

The gallery also features “Threads That Bind Us”, a short documentary commissioned by IAMM that follows the making and embroidery of the thobes while introducing audiences to the women behind the work.

Through their stories, it highlights both the joy and the challenges of preserving the craft, as well as the patience and skill woven into each garment.

A journey through Palestine

Special Gallery 2 takes visitors through 10 regions of Palestine, moving south from Galilee to Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Hebron, Jaffa, Ramlah-Lydda, Gaza and Naqab.

As visitors move through the gallery, they can see how embroidery traditions developed differently from one community to another, with each region forming its own distinctive visual character.

This gallery brings together thobes, jewellery, headdresses and other artefacts, showing what Palestinian women wore in daily life as well as for special occasions such as weddings.

Detailed descriptions accompanying the pieces offer further context about their origins and significance. Stitching, colour, materials and motifs reveal where a person came from and the community to which they belonged, turning clothing into a form of visual storytelling.

Together, the two galleries offer more than a look at Palestinian embroidery: they show how a traditional craft can carry memory, identity and a sense of place, even as the communities that sustain it continue to change.

‘Tatreez: Reclaiming Palestine through Embroidery’ (until April 25)

Where:
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia,
Jalan Lembah Perdana,
50480 Kuala Lumpur

Learn more about the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia here.

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