Palestinian Embroidery; Empowering Women and Strengthening Communities (Workshops)

Convinced of textile’s transformative potential at both a personal and communal level ‘Palestinian Embroidery; Empowering Women and Strengthening Communities’ explores the multifaceted identity of textiles, with a focus on domestic textile crafts passed down through generations of women (e.g. embroidery in the West Bank and Gaza and knitting in Glasgow (and Scotland more broadly)). The workshops and final exhibition will deliver a peaceful message about cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

A series of workshops focusing on the historical and cultural richness of Palestinian embroidery.

Participants will learn traditional Palestinian embroidery techniques and symbols; each motif is distinctive (e.g. the cross for Glasgow’s twinned town Bethlehem or amulets for Gaza) and incorporate these into modified and adapted knit patterns from the Glasgow Women’s Library archive collections.

There is more information about the project on this website.

Workshops: Weekly from 2^nd February  to  5^th April, on Tuesdays from 11am to 1pm

The workshops are open to all interested women. Please note no previous embroidery or knitting experience is required as workshops are suitable for beginners through to the more experienced and all attendees will be invited to skill share through cultural exchange.

Participants are welcome to drop in to workshops, however booking is recommended, as places are limited.

Exhibition Launch: 2pm to 4pm Friday 6^th May.

Exhibition: Palestinian Embroidery; Empowering Women and Strengthening Communities: Friday 6^th May to Tuesday 31^st May.

A final exhibition will will celebrate outcomes from the Palestinian Embroidery workshops which took place through Spring. Alongside these new works we present documentation of traditional Palestinian embroidery from partners in the West Bank. The opening event on Friday 6th May from 2pm to 4pm will include presentations from workshop participant Olivia Mason and Noora Husseini, founder of Taita Leila, a social enterprise inspired by the long and rich tradition of Palestinian embroidery, linked via the Internet to Glasgow Women’s Library from Ramallah.

Booking

These workshops are for women only and are free to attend. We would be delighted if you could join us for the full season of workshops, however if you can only make some you are still welcome to join. Please book below (you will be taken through the shopping cart but no charge will be made) or you can call us on 0141 550 2267. If you have booked a place and are no longer able to attend please let us know so that we can make your place available to someone else.