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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...
The journey begins...
...with Sent into Space
Who is Sent Into Space?
Here at Sent Into Space, we specialise in capturing awe-inspiring footage from space to produce compelling stories for our customers, as well as facilitating high-altitude satellite component testing and stratospheric research experiments. We achieve this by using bespoke spacecraft built by our in-house engineering team, which are propelled to over 120,000 feet using high-altitude balloons filled with lighter-than-air gas.
Sent Into Space and CulturalxCollabs
We were incredibly excited when The Museum for Islamic Arts got in touch with us and invited us to participate in their CulturalxCollabs initiative. This project has given us a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the power of shared culture and the common threads that unite us all. We decided to launch our carpet fragment through the clouds and into the stratosphere to capture a truly unique view of it floating against the blackness of space, the curvature of the Earth and the thin blue line of its atmosphere.
Launching the carpet on an out-of-this-world journey
Floating through space against the backdrop of Earth, the carpet fragment invites us to reconsider the way we see our world. From its perspective at an altitude of 120,000 feet, the divisions between us are insignificant against the luminosity of our collective existence. The experience echoes the ‘overview effect’ – a cognitive shift reported by astronauts when viewing Earth from space. This transformative perspective urges us to look beyond individual boundaries and recognise that, like the threads woven into the carpet, we are all interconnected.
By elevating the fragment high above our home planet, we hope to conjure a deeper sense of intercultural understanding. It calls on us to take lessons from the past, reflect on what we share today, and lay the foundations for a future that rewards inquisitiveness, mutual respect and shared responsibility; guiding us towards a more harmonious existence. Through this collaboration, we hope to inspire a renewed appreciation for our shared human journey, one where the threads of our differences flourish alongside each other.
Behind the scenes film
Dragon Carpet Launched Into Space!
Watch the full behind-the-scenes film created by the #SentIntoSpace team.
like the threads woven into the carpet, we are all interconnected
Henry, our year-in-industry superstar, mounts the carpet fragment onto a custom-built launch platform to ensure it’s safely secured for the upcoming spaceflight.
Our mechanical engineer extraordinaire Naill performs some final tweaks to the camera housings, which attach the cameras to the craft and provide them with a degree of insulation against the freezing temperatures of space.
Head Engineer Matt gives the craft a final inspection to make sure everything is in order, before declaring it ready to fly.
Matt arrives with the craft at the disused world war runway being used for the project's launch site.
Alex lets go of the craft as it begins its 120,000 feet long trip into space.
The craft ascends into the clouds on its way to the upper stratosphere.
It’s time to pick up the craft after its epic round trip to space, so the recovery team checks the craft’s telemetry to find out where it’s landed.
Success! Communications Manager Ben locates the craft and celebrates a job well done.
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?
