Widad Kawar (Arabic: وداد قعوار ) is an internationally renowned collector of Jordanian and Palestinian ethnic and cultural arts. She has amassed an extensive collection of dresses, costumes, textiles, and jewelry over the past 45 years, seeking to preserve a culture that has been largely dispersed by conflict. Kawar is known as Umm l'ibas al-falastini - the mother of Palestinian dress.[1]
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Kawar grew up in Bethlehem. She studied in Ramallah and at the American University of Beirut.[2] Kawar has made her collection available for public viewing and has mounted exhibits of Palestinian dress around the world. She has written many books on Palestinian embroidery and is seeking to establish a Gallery of Cultural Embroidery. Recently, she collaborated with Margaret Skinner on A Treasury of Stitches: Palestinian Embroidery Motifs, 1850-1950 (Rimal/Melisende) [3]