“….Though these women may never see Palestine, to embroider is to understand that in the world of cloth, and perhaps in reality, Ramallah and Hebron have different cyprus trees, Bethlehem and Jerusalem have different roses. Even the “gates of heaven,” a traditional Palestinian stitch, rise differently depending on your origins….” – The Daily Star, Lebanon.
Have you seen the ‘Red Dress’ in the Museum of Brisbane in City Hall? It is an amazing work of embroidery by women from 51 countries.
There was much made of the Australian contribution to the dress showing spinifex grass, Uluru, crows, and kangaroos. There was also a very interesting interview with Mexican women who operated out of a house filling orders for embroidery and sustaining themselves through this employment.
I began wondering whether there was any Palestinian tatreez represented in this beautiful gown. I could not see it so I contacted a friend who does this work and she told me that I should look on the shoulders of the model. And sure enough I found these (below) no doubt full of meaning for the embroiderers stuck in a refugee camp in Lebanon. Attempts to bring a panel from “Israel” has met with all the usual impediments of an occupying force.
From 2009 to 2026, pieces of The Red Dress and later the completed garment has travelled the globe being embroidered onto. Constructed out of 87 panels of burgundy silk dupion, the dress has been worked on by 367 women/girls, 11 men/boys and two non-binary artists from 51 countries, earning it a place in the Guinness World Records 2026 for the largest collaborative embroidery project.
https://reddressembroidery.com/
A friend has started a tatreez collective with some women in Magandjin from BDS youth and Justice for Palestine JFP 🇵🇸 .
Who knows what will come out of this project? Solidarity has many forms, from the Maiwar river to the many seas!
Ian Curr
20 August 2026