#tatriz

Reposted from @hyperallergic Every May 15 for the last 76 years, Palestinians around the world commemorate the #Nakba (Arabic for "the catastrophe”), during which 750,000 Palestinians were permanently displaced from their homelands as a result of the establishment of the State of Isr@el. During this mass exodus, the ancient embroidery practice known as taṭrīz or tatreez became an invaluable way for Palestinians to preserve their history and culture.

In the last seven months, amid Israel’s relentless attacks on G@za, many have engaged in and revived the shared practice. In November, artist Maya Amer used the embroidery as a way to visualize the more than 8,000 Palestinians who had been killed by Israeli airstrikes at that time. Others led the collaborative project Tatriz for Palestine to honor the civilians killed by the Israeli military in G@za. Today, the death toll in the G@za Strip has risen to more than 34,904.

Zain Masri was first introduced to the practice as a child while visiting her grandmother in Jordan. Decades later, when she reconnected with the art form during the pandemic, she quickly realized that there was an urgent need for accessible, high-resolution, and simple taṭrīz patterns in the international embroidery community and Palestinian diaspora.

To address this issue, Masri launched the Tirazain Initiative — a free online searchable library available in English and Arabic containing digitized patterns for more than one thousand taṭrīz motifs.

Masri told Hyperallergic that she hoped the digital library would help provide “a platform for Palestinian women to share their work and to connect with other taṭrīz enthusiasts,” as well as promote the art form across cultures and communities.

Read more through the link in bio

🔗https://hyperallergic.com/915145/preserving-the-art-of-palestinian-tatriz-76-years-after-the-nakba/https://hyperallergic.com/915145/preserving-the-art-of-palestinian-tatriz-76-years-after-the-nakba/

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1-3, 5, 6 - Images via Tirazain Initiative, courtesy Zain Masri

4 - Photo by Philippe Lissac/Getty Images