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Knot: Holding On

Independent Project
Event: Open Studio
In-person
Jan 25 2026
Free
5:00pm – 9:00pm
Shoot For Peace 276 Carlaw Ave, Unit 205, Toronto
[email protected]

‘Knot: Holding On’ is a one-day open studio reflecting artist Alanoud’s (noudiee) lifelong journey of holding onto a homeland she has never stepped foot in…piecing together the fragments of Palestine passed down through family stories and the nostalgic memories of her summers in Jordan.

Tatreez is the traditional Palestinian art of storytelling through stitched patterns; it is one influence in this showcase. It’s not the center, but an essential thread. Like Tatreez, each piece, or in other words – motif, in this showcase carries a story: a memory inherited… barely experienced. Through textiles, clothing pieces, and familiar nostalgic objects, noudiee uses any mediums she can grasp on to tell the stories she never got to live, but always carried.

Blending embroidery, childhood items, candies, patterns, and textures, the artist explores how art can hold emotion and how material things can preserve what distance could never erase. Each stitch, fold, and layer becomes a way to express longing, pride, and resistance and is a reflection of her nafs (soul), her inner self shaped within the diaspora.

This body of work treats memory as something received through love rather than experience. These pieces act as gentle personal archives, preserving the Palestine she learned through family, imagination, and community.

For one night only, come sit with noudiee in the memories she’s tied, retied, and refused to let slip away. Step into ‘Knot: Holding On’ — and hold on with her. Ahlan w Sahlan (welcome)!

Participants

Alanoud Emaish

Accessibility

Who should visitors contact with questions regarding accessibility?
Alanoud Emaish
[email protected]
Can people get to the venue using accessible transit?
Yes
A bright, close-up photograph captures materials for a Palestinian embroidery (Tatreez) activity laid out on a lime green surface in sunlight. The image includes red and green embroidery threads, a small piece of white fabric with two needles, silver embroidery scissors, and a woven green cloth accented with pink stitching. A card in the center reads “TATREEZ with noudiee. 4 GAZA”, connecting the scene to a community art initiative.
As part of "Knot" Holding On – To My Identity, the keychain-making workshop transforms thread into a personal keepsake—a reminder of the ties that keep us connected to home.
A wooden easel stands at the edge of a pier, facing the calm sea beneath a soft blue sky. Resting on it is a painting framed by an arched doorway — a motif drawn from traditional Palestinian architecture, serving as a window to home and heritage. Within the arch, red poppies bloom, symbols of memory, resilience, and belonging. Draped over the easel’s leg, a black-and-white keffiyeh anchors the scene in identity and resistance.
An open doorway to remembrance — poppies for Palestine, rooted even from afar.
Watermelon slices arranged on a keffiyeh-patterned cloth, each with delicate red poppies sprouting from the top.
Poppies rising from slices of watermelon — two symbols of resistance and remembrance. Even far from home, Palestine continues to bloom.
Two wooden-framed panels mounted on a wall, each covered with wire mesh. Red thread is intricately knotted to form the words “IT’S” and “COMPLICATED.” The piece visually conveys tension and connection — threads of identity intertwined, representing the complexity of cultural belonging and emotional distance.
“It’s Complicated” — hand-knotted red thread stretched across wire frames. A reflection on identity, belonging, and the tangled emotions of living between worlds.