Special programs
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Threads of the Diaspora: Weaving scraps of Palestinian heritage
From September 24, 2024 until November 30, 2024Check dates, opening times and entry conditions for each event.
MADRID AND CORDOBA
Casa Árabe’s headquarters in both cities.
Check dates, opening times and entry conditions for each event.
No more than 20 people per workshop. Materials included.
In Spanish.
This fall we will be hosting workshops and meetings to discover tatreez,
Palestinian embroidery, to create a work that weaves together the
threads of the diaspora. From October 11 to November 30, come “Embroider
Palestine” with us.
After such an excellent experience last year, this fall we will be meeting again to work on embroidery for the cause of Palestine. This time, we will be making the central panel of a Palestinian dress, typical of Gaza.
In addition to the human and material annihilation of the Gaza Strip, there is also the destruction of its cultural heritage, which is often intangible, including the knowledge and tradition of Palestinian embroidery or tatreez, in danger of being lost forever in this region of Palestine.
Tatreez, traditional Palestinian embroidery, declared since 2021 to be a form of Intangible Immaterial Heritage by UNESCO, is a Palestinian folk art traditionally practiced by women. It has now become a symbol of Palestinian culture, identity and resistance. A space for interaction shared along with similar customs and artistic practices from other regions in the Arab world and Mediterranean. Tatreez was used to decorate dresses, with specific shapes, colors and motifs that helped identify the region and place where they were woven in historic Palestine.
Using the scraps from different pieces that will be created during the workshops and gatherings, we will be putting together a collective work: a panel from a Gazan dress connected with scraps in the diaspora.
Each participant will be given a piece of that panel to embroider, and they will also be able to choose different Palestinian embroidery motifs that can be donated to complete the rest of the work. These pieces will be connected through different threads representing the Palestinian people in the diaspora. From home or wherever you happen to be, you can also choose motifs of your own and send them in to us so that we can include them in the piece.
These workshops, designed to be spaces for meeting and sharing, will be held on two Fridays per month at Casa Árabe, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Those who have already taken part in prior workshops may come and start embroidering right away. Those who are coming for the first time will be watching a theoretical presentation (15 minutes), about the tatreez in Palestinian history and culture, its variants by regions, its dimensions and meanings, as well as taking part in a practical embroidery session.
To finish off the day, in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, on the evening of November 30 we will be inviting those of you who already know how to embroider to participate in a marathon Palestinian embroidery gathering, also from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., where we can all get together to continue making embroidery together and connect with other groups of embroiderers from different places all over the world.
From December 13 to 14, the collective work will be put together, in order to exhibit the panel during the week of December 16, and it will remain on display at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid during the winter holiday and month of January, along with the scraps which you embroider from home and from different locations.
The Palestinian embroidery motifs that you embroider at home and the instructions for making those embroidery pieces will be posted soon on the website. We will be publishing a PDF file with 17 models and the embroidery instructions.
In line with the project Living Tatreez that we hosted last year, the goal of this new series of workshops and meetings is to increase awareness about the different varieties and dimensions of tatreez, its meaning as a part of Palestinian identity and culture, thus creating networks of cultural resistance and solidarity from different parts of the world. In addition to being an art form in and of itself, which can be used in clothing, dresses, scarves, artwork and posters, it is also a way to make a living, especially for many women in the diaspora and among the Palestinian refugee population in Jordan.
The workshops/gatherings are being held with the with the cooperation of Maysun Cheikh Ali Mediavilla, a Spanish-Palestinian teacher and artist.
Casa Árabe, Madrid
Friday, October 11, 2024 Workshop: Threads of the Diaspora 1, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tickets
Friday, October 25, 2024 Workshop: Threads of the Diaspora 2, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tickets
Friday, November 8, 2024 Workshop: Threads of the Diaspora 3, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tickets
Friday, November 29, 2024 Workshop: Threads of the Diaspora 3, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tickets
Saturday, November 30, 2024 Palestinian embroidery marathon, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Prior registration required.