STITCHING STORIES
Tatreez Workshop w/ Tatreez Jenin
May 24, 2025
Textile Workshop
Chicago, IL - On May 24th, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art in collaboration with the Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education, was honored to host a brilliant tatreez workshop run by the wonderful Tatreez Jenin! The workshop started off with an educational presentation on the long history behind this indigenous tradition from Palestine and finished off with participants making their own tatreez design.
As a self-taught tatreez artist, Jenin was able to guide the participants through the more daunting parts of embroidery, making the workshop truly open to all skill levels! To get everyone prepared, she provided an incredibly educational presentation that spoke on how the practice was passed down from generations to generations of women. Jenin introduced the diverse patterns that differentiated city to city with real life examples of her own grandmother, who she displayed wearing a dress with a pattern native to Ramallah, a city in Palestine where her family was displaced during the first Nakba.
Guests of all ages were able to take what they learned from the presentation and create their very first tatreez-- the group as a whole choosing to do the feather design native to El-Khalil! This workshop had many participants working together in order to make their visions come to life, which led to a great experience! No prior art skills were required, making the event accessible and entertaining for everyone. The workshop encouraged attendees to explore to the limits of their creativity through storytelling and cross-cultural exchange, providing a great experience for everyone who attended!
This workshop was part of the Stitching Stories project, where we look to bridge the Black and Asian communities together through the art of textile works, supported by Healing Illinois. Healing Illinois is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services in partnership with The Field Foundation of Illinois.
About the Artist
Tatreez Jenin
Jenin is the founder of Tatreez Jenin, a small business dedicated to teaching the history and practice of tatreez, the traditional Palestinian art of embroidery. Through community workshops, she shares both the technical skills and cultural significance of this vibrant art form, using it as a creative and accessible tool for cultural education. For Jenin, tatreez is more than a craft—it is a living archive of Palestinian identity, artistry, and heritage. Her work centers on connecting communities through storytelling, color, and tradition, one stitch at a time.
To learn more about Jenin, visit her website here!