Shatha Safi

Raised on the inspiring stories of Palestinian resilience and resistance from her family, lifelong artist Shatha Safi began creating art that illustrated Palestinian traditions after the loss of her father and grandmother. 

Missing her grandmother also meant missing seeing her grandmother’s thobe every day. Traditionally worn daily by Palestinian women all over the country, thobes have been a staple in Palestinian culture for centuries. With intricate embroidery patterns unique to each village in Palestine, thobes are more than just everyday attire, but a physical manifestation of Palestine itself. 

With the occupation attempting to erase more of Palestine each day, Shatha has carried on the tradition of thobes by starting a project she named Bint El Shams (or Daughter of the Sun). She makes clay thobe décor that she paints to match each intricate pattern native to each village. After letting the clay bake in the sun, she paints each thobe patterns from historical photos, memories, and input from community members. She named the project after the process of baking clay in the sun and to remind us that Palestinians, as farmers, are forever children of the sun.

Beyond clay thobes, Shatha creates other beautiful art pieces she prints onto tote bags, small prints, and shares them on social media. A lot of her work is rooted in pre-1948 imagery of Palestinians. Shatha continues her strong efforts of resistance through preserving Palestinian culture in light of a world trying to erase it.