Embroidering Palestine: Nature, Splendour, Power and Change

24 May 2026, by Jane Francis

In this week's blog, member Jane Francis reviews Embroidering Palestine, currently on display at MoMu, Antwerp. The exhibition runs until June 7th.

The exhibition is intimate, timely, poignant and deeply beautiful.

Curated by Rachel Dedman- internationally recognised expert on Palestinian embroidery and Curator of  Contemporary Art from the Middle East at the Victoria and Albert Museum—Embroidering Palestine brings together significant works on loan from the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, the Textile Research Centre, and the Wereldmuseum. 

Interestingly as a travelling and developing show, the first UK iteration was exhibited at Cambridges Kettles Yard and the Whitworth in Manchester in 2023. Francine McMahon reviewed the exhibition for the Costume Society.  

Speaking about reimagining the exhibition in Antwerp, MoMu director Kaat Debo explains: 

“At MoMu, we approach fashion as a cultural phenomenon with social, historical and political  dimensions… Fashion is a lens through which we can view the world from different perspectives, and  Palestinian embroidery is a powerful example of that…"

Palestine carries in its soil and rivers the collective memory of an Indigenous, multicultural and religiously pluralistic people who have cultivated and cared for the land for centuries. Weaving together the historical  and the contemporary, the MoMu presentation celebrates this rich heritage while foregrounding designers shaping its future, including Ayham Hassan, GmbH, Reemami, Studio Nazzal and Zeid Hijazi.

The exhibition tells a story of tradition, craft and meaning through material culture. Beyond decoration,  embroidery functions as a haptic, tactile language. Palestinian women and girls historically adorned  the thobe—the traditional dress—with symbols of history, memory and place, embedding personal and  communal narratives into colourfully stitched motifs. Known as tatreez, this needlework is one of  Palestine’s most significant cultural practices. 

Historically, Palestinian dress was defined by regional diversity, with each area recognised through its  textiles, patterns and stitchwork. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tatreez operated as a  shared visual language among women. The most common stitch—the cross-stitch (X-stitch), often  called fallahi (“peasant”)—sits alongside techniques such as manajel (joining stitch). 

Until the mid-twentieth century, dress could signify “an individual or a place: a wife, a mother, a daughter,  a family, a house, a village, a town, a field, a market.” The thobe becomes a biographical object, holding a  woman’s life story through thread, colour and composition—each garment an intimate expression of  identity and belonging. 

Tatreez is rooted in rural life, deeply connected to nature. Motifs often draw from Palestinian flora, while  materials themselves speak of place: linen harvested in the Galilee, woven in Gaza, dyed with locally  grown indigo.

The exhibition unfolds through a series of interconnected ideational spaces. Curated traditional and modern  garments are displayed alongside significant historical photographs and artifacts. Objects and imagery are  supported by detailed multilingual interpretation, offering historical context while shedding light on  process and symbolism. Dedman notes, 

“We took a thematic approach… embedding the historical and the contemporary side by side.” 

The opening section, Nature, explores the deep connection to land and agriculture. Every fibre reflects a  relationship to environment and daily life. Embroidery was traditionally the craft of rural women,  embedded in their lives in agriculture, with motifs inspired by flora, fauna and daily life. In contrast, Splendour explores the role of dress in expressing wealth and status. Wedding garments, rich  with gold thread, mother-of-pearl and elaborate adornment, reveal extraordinary craftsmanship. Jewellery  and embroidered motifs also held talismanic significance, suggesting clothing’s ability not only to signify but to protect.

The theme of Change feels especially resonant. Like all fashion, tatreez evolves—its forms shaped by  political and social realities. Garments bear traces of shifting norms during the British Mandate period, as  well as the introduction of new materials. At the same time, they reflect the emotional landscape of  women’s lives—love, grief, motherhood—written into cloth as a form of lived history. 

The final section, Power, examines the protective and symbolic role of embroidery and jewellery, as well  as the transformation of tatreez into a form of resistance. During the First Intifada, embroidery and the  keffiyeh became potent expressions of identity and solidarity, embodying a collective refusal of erasure.

Visiting this compelling exhibition, I found myself drawn to the silent strength of the humble needle—the  intricate storytelling carried through every stitch and gesture. There is something profoundly human in the  work: a multigenerational continuity of skill, memory and care, with roots stretching back thousands of  years to Canaanite times. In 2021, UNESCO recognised Palestinian embroidery as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Today, the power of tatreez lies in its role as a living symbol of identity, solidarity, resistance and  continuity. Since the Nakba of 1948—the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians—it has  become an act of cultural assertion, a way of holding on to history through making. The exhibition traces  this politicisation with sensitivity, while also highlighting how contemporary designers continue to draw  from and reinterpret the tradition. 

The quiet power of this exhibition resonates deeply. In engaging with craft, tradition and material culture,  we are offered a way to understand Palestine’s rich heritage—and its unwavering, forward-looking vision.

For costume society members interested in a deeper dive- Momu are hosting a companion series of in  person hands-on Palestinian Embroidery workshops. “Tatreez is so much more than craftmanship, it’s a  story about Palestinian identity. Although the cross-stitch is the most common technique, women used to  employ a wide range of decorative techniques, as they still do today. Inspiration for embroidery motifs  came from everyday life: plants, animals, architecture and political events”. The result of the collaborative  workshops will be a tribute to the Palestinian culture, embroidering together threads of resistance into a  unified expression. A silent form of cultural resistance, in which everyone's voice is heard loud and clear”.

As mentioned, Francine McMahon previously reviewed Embroidering Palestine during its Manchester iteration. Revisit her review on our blog.

The exhibition is on view in Antwerp until June 7th 2026.

Jane Francis MA, SFHEA- is a global fashion academic and researcher. For over 30 years Jane has worked in  Fashion as a practitioner, archivist, and creative consultant, and as an educator and leader at academic institutions in  London: Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion and New York at Parsons School of Design.