Aiming to preserve the ancient Palestinian embroidery technique Tatreez, also known as cross stitch, UAE social enterprise 81 Designs will conduct special workshops during Dubai Design Week on November 9 and 10.  

Visitors are open to sit in a two-hour session from 11:30am to 1:30pm at R05 Building 6 in Dubai Design District, where they can learn about the history of the craft and engage in a valuable interactive learning experience. The kits provided to all participants are created by the refugee artisan women employed by 81 Designs.

Nadine Maalouf, a philanthropist who co-founded 81 Designs and advisory board member of Art Dubai, said: “We founded the enterprise to preserve the art of Tatreez while helping the underprivileged artisan women who fled to the Ain El Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon. It is our vehicle to bring art and humanity together. Modernizing the traditional Palestinian embroidery is our way to honour and preserve our Arab heritage, and working with refugee women artisans is our way to give them pride in what they do and opportunity to provide for their families with a sustainable income.”

Tatreez not only a traditional craft but a communication tool

Nesrine El Tibi Malouf, co-founder of 81 Designs, shared the significance of the Palestinian art form. She said, “Tatreez was a traditional craft used in dressmaking passed down from one generation to the other, until the political unrest when it was used as a coded language to express opinions and stories. For the refugee women that we employ at 81 Designs, it is more than a craft but a symbol of resistance, identity and heritage.”

To modernize and make Tatreez more relevant today, 81 Designs collaborates with regional artists annually to recreate their works in a different medium, and showcase refugee women’s artisanal skills in global platforms. This year, the enterprise collaborates with Lebanese designer Nada Debs and will present their most recent project at Abu Dhabi Art.

81 Designs’ tatreez workshops are part of ‘Making Space,’ a pop-up studio that explores the creative process behind niche design disciplines offering workshops conducted by UAE-based, regional and international designers and professional creatives. With limited seats available, those who are interested to join are encouraged to register on info@81designsme.com. 

For more updates, please follow @81DesignsME on Facebook / Instagram / its official website 81designsme.com.