Taraz traditions: Armenian heritage from Toronto to New York
As a first-generation Armenian Canadian, I am fortunate to have grown up with a rich and varied heritage, including music, clothing and food. While this was impactful, it was usually limited to personal homes, church or the occasional secular event. I would have been surprised to see an Armenian textile in a museum or gallery. I could never have imagined that someday I would see a piece of Armenian taraz — my very own textile artwork — on display.
Throughout my childhood, I saw women on both sides of my family engaging with textile art forms such as knitting, crochet, cross-stitch,and hand- and machine-sewing. I’ve been creating art in different ways since I was around 3 years old, but I discovered my love of embroidery when I was 19 and have been developing my craft ever since.
Almost as soon as I began my embroidery journey, I knew I had to learn about the traditional patterns and techniques used by my ancestors. My first big project was a cross-stitched pillowcase featuring Armenian patterns and colors, which I’m now making a larger version of. I’m very proud of that project, how detailed it is and how it marked the beginning of this marriage between two things I love: art and culture.
After learning about the history of taraz, Armenian traditional clothing, I decided to create a taraz headdress of my own. This piece, created between 2025 and 2026, includes a handcrafted and sewn headdress decorated with metal jewelry findings and coins, bead work, and machine-embroidered ribbon from Armenia. The ribbon is the only part I didn’t make myself. When I bought my first taraz apron as an adult, I ordered extra trim from the apron to use in future sewing projects. Later, when I decided to make this headdress, I found some of that leftover ribbon and knew it would be perfect.
Jadi Darawi’s work
In addition to the headdress itself, there is a red veil draped over the top of the piece and lined with my hand embroidery. I chose a symbol from the Van region, a historical center of Armenian embroidery and the region closest to where my family is from. I do a lot of work in the Van style, in cross-stitch, but I particularly liked this dragon because it represents protection.
This is my first gallery show outside of Canada, so I was very excited when I received the news. This is a big step in my artistic journey, but I’m also very proud to have this particular piece on display because of its cultural significance. This is something my younger self would have been very excited about. I’m really happy to bring this piece — a piece of my art and a piece of Armenian culture — to the audience in New York.
You can see Jadi’s artwork for yourself at the Textile Art Center in Brooklyn, New York, from April 18th to 26th, 2026.
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