4. PRESERVING PALESTINIAN HISTORY WITH WAFA FROM TATREEZ AND TEA

WAFA GHNAIM IS A RESEARCHER, ARCHIVIST, AND THE FACE BEHIND TATREEZ AND TEA (@tatreezandtea). The author of two books, Wafa has been a pioneer in teaching and preserving the art of tatreez and can now be found conducting research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

From Wafa’s own tatreez origin story to rescuing Palestinian dresses to an honest conversation about the backs of our embroidery, we dive deep into so many extraordinary topics. These are lessons that our beloved ancestral art form has taught Wafa and – by extension – us through her workshops, lectures, books, and now, research within museums.

As Wafa says, “you’ve either got mastery of the art form or you’re working towards mastery (i.e. seeing with your hands)” and it is so vital that we continue to learn and think critically in our journey towards mastering tatreez.

In segment 00:49:00–00:50:04 it was mistakenly implied that the thobe pattern sold in the Tatreez & Tea shop, embroidered during the Second Intifada, was solely created by Wafa. She would like to issue a correction and apology, as this specific pattern was produced for the Tatreez Institute by a member of the Tatreez and Tea community. Wafa would like to sincerely apologize and uplift all contributors of patterns to Tatreez & Tea, some of which have requested their names to remain anonymous, who have generously invested their time and effort in creating these patterns and supporting Palestinian dress reclamation in the United States.

If you have any questions about tatreez history, Tatreez and Tea, or the Tatreez Institute – send us an email at tatreeztalk@gmail.com and we’ll bring Wafa back to answer any and all of your questions.

In the meantime, you can find Wafa on Instagram and Tiktok using her handle @tatreezandtea and learn directly from her through her blog, shop, books, digitized museum dress patterns, virtual courses and more via her website.

You’ll hear about:

>> 2:20: Wafa’s tatreez origin story

>> 4:46: Transitioning to teaching

>> 8:45: Evolution of Tatreez and Tea to work at museums

>> 14:48: Including oral storytelling for more accurate classification of dresses within museums

>> 19:40: Mission rescue our dresses

>> 25:57: How to rescue a Palestinian dress

>> 27:32: Relationships with non-Palestinians through tatreez

>> 31:25: Behind Wafa’s more recent publication, Thobna

>> 34:20: Wafa’s favorite motif / designs tied to the revolution

>> 36:18: Being honest about the back of our tatreez

>> 44:42: Advice for students working towards mastery of tatreez

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