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...
Fragment #60 travels through schools in Germany
The Alwaleed School Partnership officially launched in February 2024. Established at the school since 2019, the partnership now includes 21 partner schools and will offer various free educational formats in schools and other extracurricular learning spaces during closure times. Students, together with facilitators, will have the opportunity to explore thematic areas in new contexts.
Starting in 2024, the school partnership will offer four free educational formats that can be booked through our media portal Islamic • Art
The school partnership collaborates directly with the cultural project 'CulturalxCollab - Weaving the Future'. We are pleased to announce that we now have our own carpet fragment #60, which regularly travels to our school partners with our formats. At the schools, students will create their own story with the carpet fragment while simultaneously participating in a free workshop with our facilitators.
TUFTING! Let’s go!
The Workshop millimeterGENAU with Fragment #60
Woven, knotted, or tufted? How are carpets made? How do the individual techniques work? In the two-day workshop, participants will learn how to weave a carpet and experiment with new techniques like tufting. Together with our experienced facilitation team, who are well-versed in textile design, students will learn how to implement these techniques, and in the end, they will receive their own small carpet for home. TUFTING... 3..2..1...!
Fragment No. 60 at Grundschule an der Bäke
The students of Grundschule an der Bäke visited us in early February to try out various techniques and design their own class carpet.
The Fragment #60 was hosted at Grundschule an der Bäke until February 2024. The elementary school received the #60 carpet fragment in advance from us. During this time, the partner school had the opportunity to examine the fragment more closely. The students also had the opportunity to learn more about the CulturalxCollabs project and the #60 carpet fragment.
It was two eventful days that passed by too quickly. Many techniques were tried out, and some small carpets were taken home. The self-designed class carpet will be delivered to the students via DHL.
Your project day with our museum
Are you as a school interested in a cooperation and would want more information? Please contact us over the booking formular. We will immediately come back to you.
Upcycling: 50 qm Carpet Patterns
Oversized colorful paper carpets don't exist? Oh yes, they do! Floral, vibrant, and intriguing carpet creations await the students during the project day. The facilitation team has plenty in store: patterns, ornaments, and depictions of entire gardens. During the practical phase, the students will try their hand at designing their own carpet and ultimately bring it to life with paper, scissors, and string. Additionally, they'll need a cardboard box from home. Finally, we'll lay out a large carpet in the schoolyard. What are you waiting for? Get those pencils moving!
Jens-Nydahl Grundschule explores "Carpet Patterns & Abstract Gardens"
The carpet fragment #60 has been a guest in Class 5c at Jens-Nydahl Grundschule since March 2024.
The students were surprised by us during class and then examined the fragment very carefully. They already know the museum and its collection very well and are looking forward to writing a story about the fragment together with the teachers.
Die Jens-Nydahl Grundschule erkundet „Teppichmuster und abstrakte Gärten“ mit Papier und Teppichen.
Green, red and orange!
Carpets were designed and printed in the Jens-Nydahl-Grundschule! The project Upcycling: 50qm carpet patterns was very exciting - and most important of all colouful!
The students explored the design of carpets together with the instructors Thomas and Renée: they discovered the ornaments, the repeating structures and the beautiful motifs! Many of the carpets in the Berlin carpet collection show different things like plants, animals, intertwined patterns and even oversized flowers. One only has to look closely to spot them all.
During the four-hour project the students examined the carpet fragment No. 60 and discovered different motifs on carpets. Then, together with the instructors, they designed their own carpets and printed them on big paper sheets.
Athene Primary School gets a visit from Fragment #60
As soon as the first workshop is over, we are guests at the next primary school: Athene Primary School in Steglitz/Zehlendorf. Thank you very much for the invitation, dear 3rd class!
The workshop was not only about garden rugs with their beautiful patterns and colour variations. It was also about our carpet fragment #60. What does a knotted wool and silk carpet feel like? The children immediately looked at the fragment and began to touch and feel the materials. Quite cosy, isn't it? What is the design of such a carpet? What do the patterns look like? Have a look for yourself!
Strich für Strich 2.0
Large, colorful, and blending into each other? What do calligraphy and graffiti have in common? Where are the connections, and how can they be combined?
Together with our educators, the students will try their hand at traditional calligraphy in a practical session following a brief introduction, experimenting with various techniques. Additionally, they will get to know different modern calligraphy and calligraffiti artists and engage with the current discourse in the urban graffiti scene.
We are delighted that the Stroke by Stroke 2.0 format is now starting in schools.
Jens Nydahl Primary School tries Stroke by Stroke 2.0
One stroke - one move!
The first workshop took place at the Jens Nydahl Primary School in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The students were in grade 6. What was Stroke by Stroke 2.0 all about?
Using chalk, pencils and crayons, the students learn about traditional calligraphy and try their hand at the beautiful art of writing. The aim of the workshop is also to introduce them to contemporary artists who have learnt traditional calligraphy and at the same time developed it further, i.e. reinterpreted it for themselves. One of the contemporary artists that we will be highlighting in the workshop is Hassan Massoudy, whose life's work we will be exploring in this educational format, and we will also be presenting some of his work to the participants in this format. The workshop was really exciting!
Blatt, Blume & Ranke
Leaf, Flower & Vine
Ivy, vines, tulips, roses, lotus, and lavender... These are all plants that the students have become familiar with in the "Leaf, Flower & Vine" workshop. What does this have to do with the Museum for Islamic Art? It's simple! This educational format revolves around the theme of plants: color, shape, scent, and the view through a microscope. Plants can do so much more. These exact plants are also found in stylized form on our objects.
Ulrich von Hütten Gymnasium kicks off first workshop
We kicked off by visiting the Ulrich von Hütten Gymnasium and had a few surprises in store for the students. The young people engaged with the individual plants that are also found in our museum, not only learning about their significance but also heading straight to the schoolyard garden. After all, plants are everywhere!
With our ExplorerBAG into the school garden!
What does a tree leaf look like? How do flowers smell? How can you identify plants? Using the Flora Incognita app, the students discovered the school garden in a whole new way.
In the subsequent practical exercise, they were able to let their artistic impulses run free and creatively depict the flowers, leaves, and all the other plants they encountered during the workshop on a bag. Here are a few impressions from the workshop for you.
We love GREEN | Teltow Elementary School
Great joy - we were guests at Teltow Elementary School! And what did we bring along? Take a guess! Leaves, flowers, and tendrils, of course!
The students, together with the educator Anne, closely examined museum objects and their surface designs. Many different plants were included: from tulips and grapevines to cedar!
We took a very close look at all the plants and realized: Oh, they look quite different on the museum objects. Prettier than in nature? Not really: Nature produces the most beautiful forms. Our plants just look a bit cooler! ;)
In this workshop, the participants could discover more plants in the school garden and get inspired for designing the fabric bags.
Schools explore the Fragment in class
Spring is here!
Our partner school, Jens Nydahl Primary School, has integrated Fragment #60 into the school day. The 5th grade drew early bloomers in art class. The fragment was included and inspired the pupils.
It's sports time!
The 5th grade at Jens Nydahl Primary School also took the fragment with them to their physical education class. The school mascot sits on Ali's shoulder. The pupils took the fragment with them into the sports hall and did some sports with it.
To look and to discover
The third grade of Athene Primary School with carpet fragment no. 60, which was previously part of the workshop ‘Upcycling: 50 square metres of carpet pattern’. Now there was some time after the workshop to take a closer look at carpet piece #60 in the group.
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?
