Tatreez: Threads of Palestinian Culture and Life
About this Event
Bring your favourite jeans, a tote bag, a cushion cover- anything you'd love to give new life. Learn Tatreez, the intricate embroidery that has carried Palestinian identity, story, and heritage through generations.
Led by the Tatreez Collective, a Palestinian-led cultural organisation preserving this craft through education and ethical fashion, this hands-on workshop teaches you the stitches themselves and what they mean. Every pattern holds a piece of village, family, and homeland. Every thread is a quiet act of cultural resistance.
Alongside the workshop, a panel of experts will trace the history of Tatreez and explore Oxford's thirty-year friendship with our twin city of Ramallah, built through the work of the Oxford Ramallah Friendship Association. Oxfam will display historical Palestinian thobes (dresses) as a living record of the craft's roots and will share more about our humanitarian work across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
Come to make something with your hands. Leave having learned something about Palestinian heritage, art, and the ongoing struggle for justice and freedom.
Tatreez: Threads of Palestinian Culture and Life is run by the Tatreez Collective in partnership with Oxfam and the Oxford Ramallah Friendship Association, with support from the Red Line for Palestine campaign.
Agenda
🕑: 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Tatreez Workshop
Host: Tatreez Collective
Info: Hands-on and guided by The Tatreez Collective, this workshop teaches you the fundamentals of Tatreez, traditional Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery. You'll bring a pre-loved item, jeans, a bag, a cushion cover, and learn the stitches to upcycle it while discovering the history and meaning behind each pattern and why this craft has carried Palestinian identity and heritage through generations.
🕑: 06:00 PM - 06:30 PM
Short Break
🕑: 06:30 PM - 06:45 PM
Doors Open for Panel Event & Light Refreshments Served
Host: Oxfam
Info: Doors open at 6:30 pm for those joining us for the panel discussion to arrive and check in. With light refreshments served, please make your way to your seat by 6:45 pm, ready for the panel to begin.
🕑: 06:45 PM - 08:45 PM
Panel Discussion and Viewing Thobes
Host: Oxfam
Info: Our panel discussion is hosted by Marwa El-Ansary, Oxfam's policy specialist for the occupied Palestinian territory, sharing Oxfam's work through partners in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and introducing the Red Line for Palestine campaign, its aims and how you can get involved. Marwa is joined by Samia from the Oxford-Ramallah Friendship Association, recently returned from the West Bank, sharing Tatreez pieces from the region. Attendees can also view two pre-Nakba Tatreez thobes donated to the Oxfam Superstore, telling the story of a Palestinian fishing village that no longer exists.
🕑: 08:45 PM - 09:00 PM
Gentle Close to the Evening
Host: Oxfam
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
