Two Jordanian Sisters Weave Their Palestinian Roots Into Art

In Amman, a dialogue between two sisters has sparked a practice with a vision to stretch the boundaries of Palestinian craft and design. Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail, co-founders of Naqsh Collective, have always been compelled by the stories embedded in their roots. “Our grandparents’ stories of displacement shaped our sense of identity,” Nermeen Abudail tells SceneHome. “As we explored embroidery, we realised it unfolds heritage and decodes a language of our ancestors, a language we felt compelled to bring back through our own interpretations.”
In 2009, the two sisters founded Naqsh from a personal need to narrate. “Storytelling became the most powerful way to convey heritage and pass it on,” explains Nisreen. “Naqsh Collective became the medium through which we could translate memory, craft, and identity into forms that continue to live and speak to others.”
As they recontextualised Palestinian embroidery into a contemporary design language, the sisters' work evolved beyond ornament by framing each stitch as an act of memory, belonging and cultural endurance.
Their collaboration is fluid, merging their backgrounds in architecture and graphic design. “Nisreen brings structure, materiality, and space, while I focus on visual language, patterns, and detail,” Nermeen tells SceneHome. “We sketch, refine, and overlap until the final piece becomes a true merging of our voices.” That voice is further amplified by the craftspeople they train in their atelier and the artisans they partner with. Woodworkers, metalworkers, and carpenters lend precision to the sisters’ vision and amplify the locality in their work.
Amongst their most poignant works is ‘Unit and Diaspora’, an installation of more than 180 sundials scattered across a Jordanian field. Each brass gnomon is carved with a cross-stitch motif referencing Palestinian routes of exile. “The limestone bases chip and weather when moved, much like the experiences of those forced to leave their land,” says Nisreen. “The sundials attempt to synchronise Palestinians metaphysically across continents, reconnecting them despite distance or generational gaps.”

Equally moving is ‘In the Garden’, a walnut wood artwork evoking the flora, fauna, and quiet beauty that once surrounded Palestinian women as they embroidered. Grapevines, wheat stems, birds, and stars form an engraved tapestry of resilience and abundance. Naqsh’s works often elicit different responses depending on where they are shown. “In the Arab world, people feel an immediate connection to the patterns and stories. While internationally, the response is more about discovery. Audiences are fascinated to learn the origins of the motifs,” Nermeen explains.
Over time, Naqsh has expanded from intimate wall pieces to large-scale installations and jewellery, but their philosophy remains anchored in patience and faith in making. The sisters emphasise on the importance of their slow process, saying, “For us, craft is resilience and resistance, it is a faith in existence itself, carried forward through Naqsh’s own language.”
Looking ahead, the sisters dream of contributing to the Palestinian embroidery rather than only preserving it. The Palestinian story is not confined to its history; it remains an unfolding narrative of resistance, resilience and pain. With each new chapter of struggle and survival, fresh identities emerge with a space to create new languages and motifs that carry the weight of the past while speaking to the realities of upcoming generations. Their latest project involves creating new motifs that document the ongoing Palestinian story. “Historically, embroidery recorded life, memory, and place,” Nermeen reflects. “Today, it documents Gaza and Palestine on a collective level, opening spaces for expression across cultures and generations.”