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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 Ahmet Erecek
The #42 rug piece from the CulturalxCollabs-Weaving The Future Project will arrive in me in the coming days after an adventurous journey to begin its own adventure. For now, it's enjoying its adventure in Amsterdam with my daughter.
I'm excitedly looking forward to both contributing to the project's goals with our country's cultural values and creating my own projects based on the rug piece sent to me.
For now, I'm waiting to share some Turkish tea with my rug piece...
I am an artist based in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye, who has been practicing two traditional Turkish arts, "ebru" and "kat'ı," which is the art of intricate paper cutting (similar to "kirigami" in Japanese, "scherenschnitte" in German, and "silhouettes" in English), for many years. I hold the title of "bearer of intangible cultural heritage" from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
For some time now, I have been working on developing my own style and approach in kat'ı art, as well as introducing innovations to the art form. The subjects that interest me most are those related to mythology, folk tales, and cultures. Therefore, my latest works are based on these goals.
As is well known, Turkish carpets are among the most famous carpets in the world, with a very deep history and unique characteristics. When I learned about the CulturalxCollabs Project and saw that it was directly based on a carpet, I realized how perfectly it aligned with my aims and goals mentioned above. With great excitement, I submitted my request to the museum's project management to acquire one of the carpet fragments. Despite some customs issues we encountered during the process,
I extend my gratitude to them for their understanding and interest in resolving the matter. Without their approach, it would not have been possible to solve the problem. Currently, fragment #42 is in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with my daughter Dilara. She was the first to see the carpet fragment, and they got acquainted. She will send the fragment to me soon. I will both explain and show her Turkish culture, and try to make it the subject of a paper-based project. It will be a process full of excitement and impatience for me...
The journey begins...
...with Christoph Willmitzer
As two dads with three origins/passports - Germany, Israel, Canada - and our daughter, we are pleased to intercultural exchange as an enrichment every day!
Christoph, Avi and Sophia
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?
Creating a carpet
A 17th-century Caucasian carpet, burned by an incendiary bomb during the Second World War, serves as the model for a replica, woven in 2022 by a family in Rajasthan, India. Over 2.3 million knots later, it is being sent out into the world in 100 fragments. This is the story of how it came to be.
