Narrative Threads

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A01=Joanna Barakat
Arab clothing
Arab costume
Artisan craftsmanship
Author_Joanna Barakat
Beaded embroidery
Category=AFW
Category=WFBC
Costume design
Cross-stitch
Cultural preservation
Embroidered dresses
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_crafts-hobbies
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Floral motifs
Folk art
Geometric designs
Hand-stitched
Heritage textiles
huttah
keffiyeh
kufiyyeh
Needlework
Palestine
Palestinian art
Palestinian dress
Palestinian embroidery
Palestinian heritage
Palestinian women
Regional styles
Silk thread
Stitching techniques
Tatreez
Threadwork
traditional dress
Traditional patterns

Product details

  • ISBN 9781849250818
  • Weight: 1445g
  • Dimensions: 210 x 270mm
  • Publication Date: 28 Aug 2025
  • Publisher: Saqi Books
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Hardback
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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. 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.

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