Artist talk: Maha Al Daya on textile art and Palestinian Tatreez

Fashion Studies

Palestinian textile artist Maha Al-Daya will give a talk on the art of Palestinian embroidery (tatreez)  and her artistic approach.

American University of Paris

<h3>Artist Talk by textile artist Maha Al-Daya and her anchoring in Palestinian Tatreez</h3> Date: Thursday 5 November 2026 17.30-18.30 pm Omid &amp; Gisel Kordestani Rooftop Conference Center (Q-801) 6 rue du Colonel Combes 75007 ParisFree entrance, per registration.About the event:Textile artist Maha Al-Daya will introduce the audience to Palestinian embroidery (Tatreez), its history, and its place in Palestinian memory and identity. She will show her work and how she uses embroidery as a visual language to tell stories of her land and the experience of exile. In particular, she will present her project “The Path of Pain,” a series of embroidered maps of Gaza, which combines cartography, memory, and embroidery.The talk will conclude with a time of conversation with the audience to share ideas about the transmission of skills, tatreez symbols, and how embroidery can become a space for memory, storytelling, and contemporary creation. The talk will be led in English, Arabic and French. Lina Gebrail Tahan has kindly agreed to translate.About the speaker: Maha Al-Daya is a Palestinian textile artist from Gaza whose work is shaped by history, memory, and identity. After studying political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, she turned to Palestinian art and fashion and trained with Syrian painter Marwan Kassab-Bachi. In Gaza, she ran her own embroidery studio, designing and stitching traditional thobes. Her solo exhibitions include Places (2012) and Not Just the Rubble (2023). Forced to leave her home in Gaza in October 2023, she reached Egypt in 2024 and France in January 2025 through the PAUSE program. Since March 2026, Al-Daya has been an Artist Protection Fund Fellow, supported by Sciences Po and Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination at Reid Hall.About the organizers: This event is co-organized by Dr Magali An Berthon, Assistant Professor in Fashion Studies at the American University, with Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, Scientific Collaborator at Domaine national châteaux de Versailles et du Trianon, and Lina Gebrail Tahan, anthropologist affiliated with the University of Cambridge and chair of the ICOM group ICethics, and assisted by AUP graduate student Skyler Mees.This event receives the generous support of the Schaeffer Center for Genocide Studies at the American University of Paris.

<h3>Conférence de l'artiste plasticienne Maha Al Daya et son ancrage dans le Tatreez palestinien</h3> Date: Jeudi 5 novembre 2026 17h30 - 18h30 Omid &amp; Gisel Kordestani Rooftop Conference Center (Q-801) 6 rue du Colonel Combes 75007 ParisEntrée libre, sur inscription.A propos : L’artiste plasticienne Maha Al-Daya présentera au public la broderie palestinienne (Tatreez), son histoire, et sa place dans la mémoire et l'identité palestiniennes. Elle montrera ses œuvres et expliquera comment elle utilise la broderie comme un langage visuel pour raconter des histoires de sa terre et de l'expérience de l'exil. Elle présentera en particulier son projet “The Path of Pain”, une série de cartes brodées de Gaza, qui combine cartographie, mémoire et broderie.La conférence se terminera par un temps d'échange avec le public pour partager des idées sur la transmission des savoir-faire, les symboles du tatreez, et comment la broderie peut devenir un espace de mémoire, de narration et de création contemporaine. La conférence sera menée en anglais, français et arabe. Lina Gebrail Tahan assurera la traduction.Intervenante :Maha Al-Daya est une artiste plasticienne de Gaza dont le travail est façonné par l’histoire, la mémoire et l’identité. Après avoir étudié les sciences politiques à l’Université Al-Azhar de Gaza, elle s’est tournée vers l’art et la mode de Palestine, formée par le peintre syrien Marwan Kassab-Bachi. À Gaza, elle dirigeait son propre atelier de broderie, créant et cousant des thobes traditionnels. Ses expositions personnelles incluent Places (2012) et Not Just the Rubble (2023). Contraint de quitter Gaza en octobre 2023, elle est arrivée en Égypte en 2024 puis en France en janvier 2025 grâce au programme PAUSE. Depuis mars 2026, Al-Daya est fellow du Artist Protection Fund avec le soutien de Sciences Po et du Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination à Reid Hall.Organisation : Cet événement est co-organisé par le Dr Magali An Berthon, Assistant Professor in Fashion Studies à l'American University of Paris, avec Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, collaboratrice scientifique au Domaine national des châteaux de Versailles et du Trianon, et Lina Gebrail Tahan, anthropologue affiliée à l'Université de Cambridge et chair du groupe ICOM ICethics, avec l'aide de Skyler Mees.Cet événement reçoit le généreux soutien du Schaeffer Center for Genocide Studies à l'American University of Paris.Photo credits : <a href="https://www.alinedeschamps.com/" title="https://www.alinedeschamps.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Aline Deschamps</a>

Artist talk: Maha Al Daya on textile art and Palestinian Tatreez

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Artist talk: Maha Al Daya on textile art and Palestinian Tatreez

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American University of Paris

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