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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 Bishop Hermann Glettler
Hermann Glettler is a Christian, art mediator and author. After studying theology and art history, he was ordained a priest of the Graz-Seckau diocese in 1991. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Innsbruck. With numerous initiatives, Hermann Glettler endeavours to promote a contemporary Christian spirituality that addresses the pressing issues of our time. Surprising interventions and moments of iconoclastic image violation are among the central aspects of his own artistic creations. In Berlin, he has designed a chapel in the crypt of the newly renovated St Hedwig's Cathedral. Bishop Glettler has been committed to social and integration work for an inclusive society for many years. As a bridge builder between church and society, between faith and art, he promotes dialogue and togetherness in an increasingly polarised world.
Genuine dialogue in times of hate and agitation
I was in the final stages of editing my new book ‘Nicht den Hass, die Liebe wählen’ (Don't choose hate, choose love), which was published by Herder-Verlag at the beginning of May, and preparing for an exhibition in Kufstein with the spatial installation ‘WHOLLY REAL’ when I received an invitation to take part in the ‘CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future’ project. A wonderful coincidence: All three projects carry the same inspiring spirit of fraternity - they stand for constructive cooperation, combining art, dialogue and interreligious debate.
Many voices - one common concern
The coexistence of religions and cultures is tense - often characterised by mistrust. While some act with agitation and violence, others turn away in resignation and ignore real challenges. In the midst of these worrying developments, I and my Muslim friend Abualwafa Mohammed, imam, religious educator and author, felt the desire to set an example of hope: Our dialogue book is the result of a long-standing friendship that has matured over many years and through painful experiences. Together, we stand for the fact that understanding, compassion and mutual respect are not only possible, but essential - especially in a wounded, often divided society. Despite all resistance, we believe in the unifying power of dialogue - and build bridges: from words, from art, from our shared belief in love.
Wholly Real - Art as dialogue
With my spatial installation Wholly Real in the dia:log gallery in Kufstein, I also sent out a clear signal in favour of interreligious coexistence. At the centre were carpets - objects with a symbolic and practical function that are traditionally used in both private and religious spaces. Through targeted interventions such as cutting out ornamental patterns and clear geometric shapes, I change their original meaning and open them up to new associations. The carpets thus become vehicles for a dialogue about image, symbol and society.
This transformation challenges the viewer: What happens when familiar orders are disrupted, meanings violated or reassembled?
The interventions refer to iconoclastic traditions that can be found in all three Abrahamic traditions, albeit with different characteristics. At the same time, the ‘wounding’ of the carpet turns it into a new symbol that raises questions about love, respect and understanding. With Wholly Real, I invite you to reflect on religious and cultural language patterns - and open up a space in which injury and healing, tradition and new beginnings enter into an open dialogue.
With this in mind, it fills me with great joy to hold a fragment of the CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future carpet in my hands. My heartfelt thanks go to the Museum of Islamic Art for this inspiring project, which opens up spaces for dialogue and encounters through artistic creation - and thus contributes significantly to a respectful coexistence of cultures and religions.
The journey begins...
...with Michel Abdollahi
Michel Abdollahi is a German journalist, moderator, poetry slammer, and artist of Iranian descent. He moved to Germany in 1986 and grew up in Hamburg. Abdollahi is known for his in-depth reports, quick-witted interview style, and contributions to the German-language poetry slam scene.
He studied law, Islamic studies, and Iranian studies. Since 2000, he has been a key figure in the poetry slam scene and founded the label Kampf der Künste, which organized the world’s largest poetry slam. His journalistic work, including the widely recognized report Im Nazidorf, earned him the German Television Award in 2016. He also hosts the NDR talk show Käpt'ns Dinner and is actively involved in cultural education and integration.
With awards such as the Gustaf Gründgens Prize, his contributions to cultural mediation have been honored. His style combines charm, humor, and social critique, making him one of the most influential voices in the German cultural landscape.
The Influence of Conversations
Conversations are more than words. They are bridges through which we enter other lives – and sometimes we lose our balance in the process. Every encounter leaves traces, some gentle like a breath of wind, others deep like a scar. You come as one and leave as another. Some conversations open doors to spaces you didn’t know existed. A sentence, said casually, can trigger a chain of thoughts that you can no longer stop. A look, a pause, an unspoken word can shake your own worldview. There are conversations that give you strength and those that drain you. Sometimes you emerge from a dialogue strengthened, with new ideas, a different perspective, maybe even with a spark of hope. Then again, there are encounters that sow doubts that shake the foundations of your self. Conversations are not one-way streets. You give, you take – but not always in equal measure. As a journalist, you learn to ask, to listen, to understand. But every time you listen, the listener changes. Like a mirror that not only reflects, but gets a new scratch, a new line, a new facet with every encounter. And so I emerge from every conversation a little different. Perhaps more thoughtful. Perhaps more liberated. Perhaps a little more me - or a little less.
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?
