UNESCO has placed Palestinian embroidery on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List, and deservedly so; the art form intimately reflects Palestine’s living traditions and turbulent recent history. This exhibition at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge (8 July–29 October) brings together dresses worn to labour in the fields alongside those made for special occasions, while films show embroiderers discussing their work. Garments from the 1970s and ’80s highlight how such needlework became a signifier of resistance against the Israeli occupation, with traditional dresses becoming emblazoned with images of guns, doves and flags. These textiles are accompanied by contemporary artworks that explores ideas of identity and displacement, such as Defeated Geographies (2019) by Khalil Rabah, which features an embroidered map of Palestinian occupied territory. Find out more on the Kettle’s Yard website.
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Dress from Ramallah (c. 1930). Photo: Kayané Antreassian; Palestinian Museum
A still from The Embroiderers (2016), Maeve Brennan. Courtesy the artist
Everyday dress from Gaza or Hebron (1935–40). Photo: Kayané Antreassian; courtesy the Palestinian Museum