Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim: A Celebration of Palestinian Embroidery

An exhibition curated by her daughters

“Embroidery is part of my life. I am Palestinian, and this my identity. I embroider and it is something connected to my heart from when I was a little girl. It feels that it is my obligation to teach [my daughters], because they are away from their homeland. If nobody teaches them, it will be lost. I feel I have to do something to show who I am. This will show who I am. With this art—our tradition—I feel that I am doing my duty that my mother and grandmother did with me.”

-Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim

A Celebration of Palestinian Embroidery presents selected works by Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, an award-winning master artist, renowned teacher, mother, and grandmother, in honor of her birthday. Throughout her life and career, Abbasi-Ghnaim has devoted herself to preserving and passing down the centuries-old art of tatreez to Palestinian women and girls in the diaspora. She has also worked to educate the American public about its deep significance, both as an intangible cultural heritage and as a tangible documentation for storytelling, identity, and resistance. This exhibition honors her remarkable contributions to the community and the world, as documented in Tatreez & Tea: Embroidery and Storytelling in the Palestinian Diaspora (2016).

Organized by her three daughters, this intimate exhibition highlights how her work functions as both a personal and collective archive of beauty, memory, and sorrow. Every stitch bridges home and homeland, threading stories across generations and geographies. Through her hands, tatreez becomes more than embroidery—it becomes a visual language of Palestinian resilience, identity, and creative expression in exile.

A Celebration of Palestinian Embroidery will be held at the SWANA Rose Culture + Community Center, 2942 NE MLK Jr Blvd, Portland, Oregon, from June 27 to 29, 2025.

A full schedule of programs will be announced soon.