ArabishWay

Tatreez and Tea Virtual Lecture Registration: The Village Series
2026-05-22 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Virtual Lecture Registration: The Village Series

Village Series, Part I
Two Sessions: May 8 & 22, 2026, Friday
Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Location: Online, Zoom link will be emailed at 10am EST on event day
Instructor: Wafa Ghnaim
Registration Fee: Sliding scale within range
Description:
Until the mid-twentieth century, the dress of the Palestinian people was descriptive of identity; first by societal segment (city dweller, villager or nomad), and then by the region in which the wearer came. Within each regional style, finer distinctions in women’s dress (thobe) were expressed that shared the maker’s life and the natural world around her. Palestinian women recorded their identity in their thobe with embroidery (tatreez) through a shared illustrative language of embroidered patterns, stitching techniques and thread colors. The thobe records unwritten stories and serves as a visual register of collective and individual identities, documenting a woman’s village, tribe or town, her marital status, her familial lineage, and the material impact of colonialism, occupation, war and exile. The regional identity of the woman defines the overall governing style of her thobe, and evidence of identity is largely through her relationship to land.
This course is a consolidated version of a portion of the Village Series, with updates, originally taught across twelve classes. Between 2020 and 2023, Wafa taught 22 cohorts of students. This consolidated version includes the villages and cities noted below, and does not have a stitching component. These are lectures only.
Session 1: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Nablus, Tubas
Session 2: Bir Saba and North Sinai, with discussion of other Bedouin styles in historic Palestine
Authored by Wafa Ghnaim
What You’ll Receive:

Live access to both sessions, each 2-hours that include Q&A sessions
A recording for 7 days after the live session

Important Notes:

Tickets include access to both sessions and are nonrefundable.
This is a live virtual event hosted via Zoom. If you are unable to attend live, you may still register to receive access to the recording.
Registration closes at 10:00 AM EST on the morning of the first lecture.
Waiting room closes at 12:30 PM EST.
All participant names should match their registration name.
A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants at 10am EST on event day.
The instructor reserves the right to review and decline registrations at her discretion to ensure a respectful and safe learning environment for all participants.
Camera sharing is required for all attendees.
Interested in learning something? Share your interest here.

The Beauty of Tatreez: Exploring Palestinian Embroidery and Dress
2026-06-15 10:30 - 12:30 | Virtual
Embroidery as language: trace how Palestinian women stitched village identity, lineage, and land into the thobe…

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Until the mid-twentieth century, the dress of the Palestinian people was descriptive of identity; by societal segment (city dweller, villager or bedouin), and by the region in which the wearer came. Within each regional style, finer distinctions in women’s dress (thobe) were expressed that shared the maker’s life and the natural world around her. Palestinian women recorded their identity in their thobe with embroidery (tatreez) through a shared illustrative language of embroidered patterns, stitching techniques and thread colors. The thobe records unwritten stories and serves as a visual register of collective and individual identities, documenting a woman’s village, tribe or town, her marital status, her familial lineage, and the material impact of colonialism, occupation, war and exile. The regional identity of the woman defines the overall governing style of her thobe, and evidence of identity is largely through her embodiment of land.
This lecture will discuss the regional distinctions in dress in historical Palestine during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by city, village and tribe for at least six regions, to include Ramallah, Galilee, Gaza, Bir Saba, Al Khalil, and Bethlehem.
ABOUT OUR LECTURER
Wafa Ghnaim is an art and dress historian, fashion researcher, embroiderer, educator, and the founder of the Tatreez Institute, specializing in Palestinian embroidery and adornment. She is the author of Tatreez & Tea (2016) and THOBNA (2023), with research published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Singapore. A former instructor at the Smithsonian and Research Scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she now continues her preservation work as a Mellon Foundation Research Fellow at the Museum of the Palestinian People, and a commissioned designer for Victoria & Albert Museum’s Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine.

Kite Building
2026-07-05 12:00 - 17:00 | YWCA Olympia, 220 Union Ave SE, Olympia, WA
On July 5th we will be building, decorating, and flying kites across from Percival Landing​!
Olympia is one of many places holding an event in solidarity with the Kites of Burin Festival during the first week of July. ​Participating in this event is a​ powerful way to showcase your solidarity with ​Palestinians in their struggle against occupation, ethnic cleansing, displacement, and genocide. It is also a family friendly way to bring recognition to the occupied village of Burin.​
Additionally, ​t​he next two Monday​s in June, the 22nd, and 29th, from 7 to 9 pm, ​w​e will be meeting at Friendship Hall at the YWCA of Olympia to ​b​uild kites in preparation for ​t​he July​ 5th event.
​T​hroughout this process we have learned from a beloved Palestinian community member how to make several kite styles ​based on the kites he and his friends used to make as children. It ​h​as been mesmerizing watching him in action and we hope to share ​h​is design​s with you all. ​Bring your own designs too!
The organizers of the Burin Kite Festival released the following call for solidarity: “We have the right to smile, we have the right to have fun, we have the right to be happy, we have the right to to play, we have the right to to move. From the Burin mountains to the sands of Gaza, they will not kill our hope and our smiles.”
​
We hope you join us!

A Mural for Ayşenur
2026-07-25 10:00 - 14:00 | Cherry Street Village, 720 25th Avenue, Seattle, WA, United States
On Saturday, July 25th, in honor of Ayșenur’s 28th birthday, our community is coming together to each paint a section of the mural honoring her.
Created by @jameshesketh_ in the colors and spirit of who she was.
This is a public, permanent statement that the demand for justice and accountability isn’t going anywhere.
🗓️ Saturday, July 25th
📍 Cherry Street Village, Seattle  🕐 10am – 2pm – Drop in anytime
Come for the mural. Stay for the community.
🔗 More info & RSVP: Link in bio.

Workshop: Create Your Own Laser-Cut Bookmark
2026-09-26 11:30 - 14:30 | KCLS – Bellevue, 1111 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA, 98004
Design and laser-cut your own bookmark inspired by geometric patterns from Islamic art and architecture.
