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This fragment is part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" carpet.
Through the fragment we trace the journey of the fragment owners and their collabs as they explore, experiment and creatively advance socially relevant themes. Here is the fragment as we are sending it on this three and a half-year journey.
Follow this story to observe the transformations the fragment undergoes over the course of these years...
...AND ON WE GO...
...with Anke Klusmeyer
I am a long time friend of Irina and also work as a conservator but for paintings. Since I was planning to go to Venice, Irina told me about this beautiful project and handed me fragment #18 to come with me and travel some more.
Venice is always beautiful. But I didn`t really know what to do with the carpet fragment and what project of cultural collaboration to present.
Then I read the theme of this year`s Biennale, “Strangers are everywhere” …and I thought of course: .... Cultural collaborations are everywhere!
So I went there with this idea in mind and realized that it is impossible to think of our world today without cultural collaborations.
As much as people travel there is meetings of cultures and all kinds of fruitful outcomes of that.
Of course meeting of cultures can also be difficult. When looking from the perspective of survival instincts we can get caught in seeing differences as “Other” and then we tend to reject other cultures.
But it is so worth it to have the courage to overcome this tendency, be curious of other cultures and collaborate.
Art in general and the Venice Biennale in particular is such a beautiful example of that. In a way it is one big cultural collaboration.
At Arsenale we finally saw the installation “Stranieri Ovunque – Strangers Everywhere” by the artist group Claire Fontaine. This installation is beautiful and for me the colours on the water reflect the richness that emerges when so many different cultures are meeting in one place.
When contemplating all this, carrying the carpet fragment around Venice I realized at the sight of Amanda Ziemele`s contribution that the carpet fragment is still not satisfied. It is almost too obvious and boring to discover and present projects of cultural collaborations. It would be much more fun to engage, participate, collaborate and be part of a totally new project!
Fragment #18 travels to Venice!
And here the dream comes true: Fragment #18 travels to Venice!
Venice is always beautiful…
but especially when you have such an exceptional view onto Canal Grande.
Leaning on the carpet it was even possible to see Punta della Dogana.
The fragment fit in very well into the whole scenery...
but still I didn`t really know what to do with it and what project to present.
“Strangers are everywhere”
But then I read the theme of this year`s Biennale, “Strangers are everywhere”… and I thought of course: Cultural collaborations are everywhere!
When discovering Lap-See Lam`s Dragon ship...
the fragment was happy and it`s dragon nature became obvious.
“Exile is hard job”
“Exile is hard job” is a work by Nil Yalter. A meeting of different cultures can be very difficult and cultural collaboration are often some kind of fruitful resolution of such difficulties.
"Strangers Everywhere"
The colours on the water of the installation “Stranieri Ovunque – Strangers Everywhere” by the artist group Claire Fontaine for me reflect the richness that emerges when so many different cultures are meeting in one place.
At the sight of Amanda Ziemele`s contribution I realized...
that the carpet fragments is not satisfied to just present projects of cultural collaboration…it also wants to participate… collaborate, create something and be part of a totally new project!
And so, we said good bye to Venice!
I left Venice with the idea in mind to take another trip...
and visit the best possible person I could think of to create something beautiful with…
The journey begins...
...with Irina Seekamp
I work as a textile conservator at the Museum for Islamic Art and also freelance in Berlin. I have been following my colleague Anna Beselin's project 'Weaving the Future' with great interest from the beginning.
The Fragment #18 followed me to Nesselwang in the Allgäu region in February 2024. Here, at the foot of the Alpspitze, it immediately feels at home and enjoys the view over Nesselwang and the Alps in the background.
From Nesselwang, Fragment #18 embarks on a long journey with me to an exhibition setup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Here, we are part of the international team from Hasenkamp for the setup of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale.
Our team takes the shuttle bus every morning to the JAX District, an industrial area of the historic city of Diriyah, where the warehouses host the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale.
The exhibition grounds are bustling with a busy atmosphere. Craftsmen and women of all trades, supervisors and managers, conservators, art handlers, organizers, curators, and of course, artists, are all busy preparing the grounds and the exhibition for the opening.
The artworks arrive in specially made crates from many parts of the world. The art handlers must transport the artworks, unpack them, and have their condition checked and documented upon arrival before they begin installation in the exhibition.
There's a lot to do... Hanging paintings, photographs, or calligraphy is meticulous work that needs to be done with precision. Having the Fragment around can be quite handy for some tasks...
Like here, when hanging the works of Abdulrahman al Soliman.
But entire installations are also set up with the artists themselves.
Sometimes, the charm of the industrial halls corresponds with the installations, as seen with the photographs by Armin Linke and Ahmed Mater.
It's especially delightful when you reunite with familiar faces! This happened when I ran into photographer Armin Linke, who visited the Museum of Islamic Art with its workshops and depots in Berlin a few years ago.
... and behold... Armin wanted a fragment of the Dragon Carpet too and received Fragment #61 directly in Riyadh.
The installation 'The Tree of Life' by Mona Vatamanu & Florin Tudor, featuring a multitude of kilims, is still in the process of arrangement, forming a contrast to the industrial look of the exhibition halls. The kilims are covered to protect them from dust until the opening. The carpet fragment here is almost among its peers.
Visiting Joan Jonas ...
In the evening, after a days work, we return tired to the hotel. Here, we can relax and rest up for the next day.
From the rooftop terrace of the hotel, there's a fascinating view over the city. As the gaze sweeps over the city into the distance, it appears like a colorful (knotted) carpet of buildings.
In the evening, the view transforms into many colorful points of light, shining like the individual knots of the Dragon Carpet.
As a finale, there's a magnificent trip to the 'Pyramid Mountain' as the first destination.
And then onwards to the 'Edge of the World,' which is two hours away from Riyadh. So, another bus ride.
But this journey is rewarded with the breathtaking view from the 300-meter-high cliff of the 'Edge of the World' into the plain below. Fantastic! Gigantic! The plain lies at your feet like a carpet!
Pictures „Edge of the world“ by Vincent Rischer
And then the journey goes back home - to Berlin
The fragment visits the Humboldt Forum near Alexanderplatz in the center of Berlin.
Here we are particularly interested in the Lienzo Coixtlahuaca II / Lienzo Seler II, which has been in the collection of the Ethnological Museum since 1897. The Lienzo is a painted textile that comes from Coixtlahuaca in Mexico and is one of the most significant objects in the collection. It was created in pre-colonial times and its depictions show the history and important events of the Coixtlahuaca region. A collaborative workshop with partners from the Coixtlahuaca valley took place in April 2024 on this impressive object. If you want to know more about this, follow fragment #63 and Monika Pacheco to Oaxaca in Mexico and the valley of Coixtlahuaca.
Fragment #18 simply loves the mountains! A good reason to travel to Reutte near the German-Austrian border. Here it visits the Ehrenberg castle ruins, which are connected to Fort Claudia by a suspension bridge.
Just above the Ehrenberg castle ruins are the ruins of the Schlosskopf fortress, which served to protect the Via Claudia Augusta.
From the ruins of the Schlosskopf Fortress you can look in all directions and see the Alps in the distance.
The old Roman road Via Claudia Augusta winds its way south, connecting the Danube with the Adriatic and leading towards Venice. It served as an exchange of goods and cultural ideas between the Romans and the Germanic peoples, so it was a CulturalXCollab street from the beginning.
The Via Claudia Augusta makes art-loving Fragment #18 dream and awakens the desire to travel again.
There is an opportunity to travel to Venice with Anke Klusmeier.
Front and back
About the project...
The Museum for Islamic Art's project, #CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the future, celebrates the transformative power of cultural exchange and the shared threads that unite us all. All the things we love, have loved and will ever love come from cultural exchange, migration and diversity, or as we like to call it #CulturalxCollabs.
100 carpet fragments, cut from a replica of the iconic dragon carpet, will travel the world (delivered by DHL). The fragments will ignite #CulturalxCollabs with co-creators, inspiring human ingenuity, fostering community and ultimately demonstrating how cultural exchange enriches all our lives.
Follow #CulturalxCollabs on Instagram as the project unfolds...
...or learn more here
Weaving the Future
Join us on a journey with 100 carpet fragments as they travel around the world for three and a half years, finding temporary homes while bridging cultural boundaries, fostering worldwide community united by the power of human stories.
Fragment Journeys
100 carpet fragments part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project. Follow their journeys through the ever changing owners' over three and a half years.
Where is the Dragon?
The star of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project is a so-called Caucasian dragon carpet from the 17th century. A dragon carpet - all well and good - but: where is the dragon?
