Joanna Barakat

Joanna Barakat’s mixed media artwork brings together the disciplines of painting and Palestinian embroidery. She was born in Jerusalem, raised in Los Angeles and then moved to London for university. She received her BA in Art and Design from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and her MA in Global Media and Postnational Communication from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her fascination with language and media came together with her artistic background to challenge and question collective ideas and stereotypes. Her self-reflective work draws on her own experiences as a diaspora Palestinian and her spirituality. Complementing her art practice, she shares her passion for Palestinian embroidery through her workshops and The Tatreez Circle Instagram page. She is the author of Narrative Threads: Palestinian Embroidery in Contemporary Art (Saqi 2025).

press and publications

Barakat, Joanna. Narrative Threads: Palestinian Embroidery in Contemporary Art (Saqi 2025)

https://saqibooks.com/books/saqi/narrative-threads/

Musatafa, Rawand. Umbilical Discord. Artwork on the cover (Universtiy of Arkansas Press 2024)

https://www.uapress.com/product/umbilical-discord/

Henderson, Ailish, Narrative Textiles: Tell Your Story in Mixed Media and Stitch (Batsford 2024)

https://www.batsfordbooks.com/book/narrative-textiles/

Ingram, Heidi. “5 Mixed Media Textile Artists” TextileArtist.org (9 May 2022)

https://www.textileartist.org/10-mixed-media-textile-artists/

Interview on Ilna Collective Website “All About Palestinian Tatreez: A Jiffy with Joanna Barakat from The Tatreez Circle” (2021, August)

https://www.ilnacollective.com/post/all-about-palestinian-tatreez-a-jiffy-w--joanna-barakat-from-the-tatreez-circle

Abulhaija, Jenna. (2021, July) “Tatreez Untangled: The Story of Palestine’s Trademark Embroidery” Palestine in America-Fashion Edition Volume 1, Issue 11 

https://www.palestineinamerica.com/blog/untangledtatreez

Deerah Preserving Palestine Live Series (2021, June 5)

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPvmQo0n3jy/?utm_medium=copy_link

Gallery Girl Podcast interview (2020, May 13)

https://anchor.fm/gallerygirl/episodes/Gallery-Girl-Meets-Joanna-Barakat-ec8f0v/a-a1qvj5f

Mandell, Hinda. (2019) Crafting Dissent: Handicraft as Protest from the American Revolution to the Pussyhats. page 188.

Egerton, Laura. (2019, June 24) “Tashkeel’s Summer Exhibtion: Celebrating an Incredible Decade of Achievement” The National.

https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/tashkeel-s-summer-exhibition-celebrating-an-incredible-decade-of-achievement-1.878469

Heing, Bridey.  (2018, November 12) “The Exhibition in the US Showcasing the Arab World through an Alternate Lens” The National.

https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/art/the-exhibition-in-the-us-showcasing-the-arab-world-through-an-alternate-lens-1.790578

Gannon, Mo. (2018, September 21) “Get Hooked on Traditional Palestinian Embroidery” Arab News. 

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1375001/art-culture

Hamad, Marwa. (2018, September 7) “Championing Palestinian Art” Gulf News Tabloid. Cover and pages 10-11. 

https://gulfnews.com/leisure/events/joanna-barakat-on-art-of-palestinian-embroidery-1.2275242  

Joanna Barakat (2018) Tribe Magazine, Issue 06, Pages 166-171 

https://issuu.com/tribephotomagazine/docs/tribe_06

Nowell, Cecilia, “These Embroiderers are Stitching a United Declaration of Human Rights Quilt” Bust.com 

https://bust.com/living/193952-united-declaration-human-rights-quote.html