Palestine Museum US will present an exhibition of Palestinian tatreez at the 2026 Venice Biennale, with organisers describing the works as "documenting the genocide in Gaza".
The show, titled Gaza – No Words – See the Exhibit, has been announced as an official collateral event of the six-month festival. It will feature 100 embroidered works created by Palestinian women in refugee camps and villages in Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank.
Tatreez is the Arabic word for embroidery, but it has also come to refer specifically to the Palestinian cross-stitch tradition. Historically stitched on to dresses and other garments, its patterns, colours and motifs have long carried markers of regional identity, family background and social status.
The practice was added to Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2021 and, over time, has also become a broader symbol of Palestinian cultural memory and continuity.
According to the museum, each 50cm by 80cm work consists of 55,000 stitches, with the full exhibition totalling 5.5 million stitches.
The pieces depict scenes from Gaza and are intended to serve as what organisers call “an indelible record of the atrocities in Gaza, preserving evidence and bearing witness to the experiences of those affected”.
The exhibition will be hosted at Palazzo Mora in Venice from May 9 to November 22. It will be open daily from 10am to 6pm, except Tuesdays, and admission will be free.
“We are honoured to bring this important work to the world's stage,” said Faisal Saleh, founder and director of Palestine Museum US. “We hope this exhibition will raise awareness and inspire action to support the Palestinian people.”
The museum is also inviting individuals and organisations to sponsor works in the exhibition, with supporters’ names to be embroidered alongside those of the makers.
