en
- de
- en
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 Renzo Fernando Herrera Moreno
The Dragon is coming...!
Today, a piece of carpet from the Museum for Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin arrives at my home, thanks to the international sponsorship of the shipping company DHL. After a long journey from the German capital, passing through the United Kingdom, Barbados, Panama, and finally Venezuela, where it was received by my granddaughter Valentina in Barquisimeto.
But fear not: it's not an original piece; it's a reproduction of a 17th-century Caucasian carpet, which is usually exhibited at Pergamon Museum, on Museum Island.
The Dragon came to us... in Venezuela!
And we are very glad to meet it in home as a family, to follow the web of experiences based on personal, family, and community history.
At home, the rug means welcome and acceptance of all without distinction: relatives, friends, neighbors, strangers and locals, visitors or just passing through, similar or different. We are all equal. We have equal value!
Like the Caucasus Dragon, whose strength and majesty have spanned centuries and continents, may this replica brought from the Pergamon Museum inspire our city of Araure to continue weaving dreams of resilience, history, and grandeur that transcend time.
In the heart of my home, in Araure, Portuguesa, Venezuela, the joy of celebrating my birthday is uniquely intertwined with the commemoration of International Roma Day. Today, April 8th, the warmth of family expands, symbolically embracing a community rich in history and tradition, while a unique piece accompanies our space: fragment #9 of the replica of the majestic 17th-century Caucasian Dragon Carpet, brought directly from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and the halls of the Museum for Islamic Art. This carpet, with its intricate designs and colors evoking centuries of woven stories, becomes an expressive witness to this special day. Its tight knots seem to whisper tales of travel, of cultural encounters, of the tenacity of the human spirit that transcends borders. When contemplating its motifs, I feel a deep connection with that "Weaving the Future" by the CulturalxCollabs project, an initiative that allows me to receive this work of art at home, which feels like a tangible bridge between my experiences and the collective experience of migratory interculturality.
Caucasian Dragon visiting the Germany of the Caribbean.
The first German immigrants arrived in Colonia Tovar in the 19th century.
After the Wars of Independence, the countries of South America faced a new scenario: they had won freedom, but their lands had been ruined. The settlement's founding in 1843 was due to the agrarian colonization program promoted by General José Antonio Páez Herrera, my ancestor, who, after sponsoring Venezuela's separation from Gran Colombia, wished to rebuild the economy of the depopulated country by leveraging immigration. Its creation was the result of this official effort in the early years of the Republic to populate areas of the country with immigrants. It owes its name to the Venezuelan politician, lawyer, and diplomat Manuel Felipe Tovar, who donated land located in the state of Aragua, in north-central Venezuela, for this group of immigrants to settle there.
Colonia Tovar is located at almost 2,000 meters above sea level...
...in the Central Coastal Mountains of the Cordillera de la Costa (Walking Distance). It is surrounded by a lush, green mountainous landscape.
"The German village of Venezuela," Colonia Tovar, is one of the most interesting cultural counterpoints and ethnic rarities in South America. This charming corner of Venezuela feels like a German city in the heart of Aragua state. Strolling through its cobblestone streets allows to enjoy the German-style architecture and the beauty of the well-kept gardens that adorn the houses and streets.
The inhabitants of Colonia Tovar, known as "colonieros," are descendants of the German immigrants...
...who founded the town in the 19th century. They have preserved many of their traditions, customs, and dialect. The community is famous for its Bavarian-style architecture, agriculture, and rural lifestyle. Despite the influence of Spanish, the colonieros continue to maintain a strong German identity, reflected in their way of life, traditions, and language. The "Colonieros German" dialect is a blend of German and Spanish and is an important part of the local culture. The colonieros are known for their hospitality and their love for the land. Colonia Tovar is a place where tradition and progress go hand in hand, where German culture lives on in a Caribbean setting.
Colonia Tovar has become a popular tourist destination...
...notable for its scenic beauty, cool climate, and unique atmosphere. Today, Colonia Tovar is recognized as a German enclave in Venezuela, a place where the culture and history of the community remain alive. Colonia Tovar has left an important cultural legacy in our country, with its architecture, cuisine, and traditions. It exemplifies the country's cultural diversity and the importance of immigration in its development. With family and friends, since I was a child, I have enjoyed its beautiful and welcoming landscapes.
The Caucasian Dragon, which has traveled from the heart of Europe to our Venezuelan homeland...
...is a bridge that unites the history of Germany on the Old Continent with the strength of the migrants who, in Venezuela, wove their dreams in Colonia Tovar. May its presence inspire us to continue interweaving cultures, traditions, and hopes into a single canvas of unity and legacy.
Celebrating World Art Day
The Caucasus Dragon, fragment #9, arrived in Araure like an ancient whisper uniting times and cultures. This piece, born from the hands of an unknown artist, presents art as a bridge that transcends borders, a silent conversation between souls separated by centuries and geographies. On World Art Day, as we also celebrate the immortal legacy of Leonardo da Vinci, we reflect with @amc2084 on how art touches the deepest part of our being. Da Vinci's works, full of inventiveness, mystery, and humanity, teach us that art not only reflects reality, but also reimagines and reinvents it. Thus, the Caucasus Dragon becomes a living symbol: its journey to Araure demonstrates how the CulturalxCollabs exchange enriches and nourishes the creativity of peoples.
Every brushstroke, sculpture, carving, collage or photograph, art has the power to make us eternal.
In Araure, a city of dreams and artists forging new paths, this visit feels like a fresh breeze fanning the flames of inspiration. Its presence invites us to open our senses: to imagine the hands that wove its details, to listen in silence to the stories its forms have to tell. The connection between this fragment of carpet and the Araurean spirit tells us that art belongs to no one and, at the same time, belongs to everyone. It is a #universallanguage that, from the subtleties of the past, propels us toward a future where local artists build universes, one stroke and one dream at a time. Today, as the Araureans observe the Dragon, seeds of transformation are sown. This encounter with history and beauty is an invitation to create, to participate in this universal legacy, to create together an art that not only transcends, but also connects hearts around the world. Because in every brushstroke, sculpture, carving, collage or photograph, art has the power to make us eternal.
Holy Week in Araure, Venezuela
Amidst the warm embrace of Araure, where traditions intertwine with the soul of a people who breathe faith and joy, every Holy Week is a profoundly transformative experience. This year, however, my experience was marked by a special thread that connected me not only to my immediate surroundings but also to a cultural heritage that transcends borders: fragment #9 of the replica of the Caucasian Dragon Carpet, a 17th-century jewel from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. As part of the CulturalXCollabs - Weaving the Future project, this piece became a symbolic bridge between the local homeland and the interwoven stories of migration, exchange, and belonging.
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, when the streets are filled with life and fervor. The palms, solemnly blessed, are raised as symbols of peace, while the warm breeze caresses the faces of those gathered at the Diocesan Basilica of our Lady of the Pillar. At that moment, the act of blessing the palms is not only a ritual gesture, but an invitation to interweave faith with the memory of those who had previously raised them in other corners of the world. The intricate design of the Caucasian tapestry, with its dragons and arabesques, resonated this year in my mind and in my hands like a visual echo of this encounter: a fabric of lives, beliefs, and traditions that intersect and mutually enrich each other.
On Holy Thursday, the churches are visited, a journey that, more than physical, is deeply spiritual. Upon entering each church, the aroma of incense and the reverberating notes of liturgical chants overwhelm one. The atmosphere of recollection is a perfect setting for reflecting on the invisible connections that unite us across time and space. Just as the Caucasian tapestry preserves the imprints of the hands that wove it centuries ago, Araure preserves in its temples and processions the essence of generations who have found refuge and renewing strength in faith.
On Good Friday, the Ruiz family's procession of the Holy Sepulchre is a spectacle of devotion and folk art. The musicians of Lara, with their strings and melodies, accompany the solemn gait of the image, while the faithful follow, many of them barefoot, in silence, with lit candles. Each note seems to vibrate in our chests, reminding us that music is another way of weaving stories, a universal language that unites hearts. And in the tapestry that accompanies me, with its geometric patterns and vibrant colors, I found a reflection of this union: the intertwining of the human and the divine.
Holy Saturday, with the Easter Vigil, is the spiritual climax of the week. The dimmed lights in the church and the symbolic lighting of the Paschal candle are a powerful metaphor for hope, a symbol that in the darkness there is always a thread of light that guides us. I think of the Caucasian tapestry as a luminous map, a visual narrative that traverses centuries and cultures to remind us that we are part of something greater.
But Holy Week in Araure is not only about faith, but also a celebration of life. During these days, the people treat themselves to moments of recreation in the Quebrada, whose fresh, crystalline water is a balm under the blazing sun. There, the neighborhood children play traditional games, laughter mingles with birdsong, and the delight of traditional dishes: pisillo de baba, shredded capybara, rice pudding, yuca fritters, and coconut preserves—flavors that evoke home in every bite. While sharing these moments with family and friends, it's possible to feel that each experience is another thread in this collective fabric of memories.
The CulturalXCollabs project allowed me to see this traditional Araure with fresh eyes. Just as the Caucasian tapestry tells stories of migration, interculturality, and resistance through its figures, my Holy Week was a reminder that our local traditions are also part of a global tapestry. Every procession, every song, every game in the ravine, and every flavor of our cuisine is a thread that connects us with those who came before and those who will come after. And when I look at the fragment of the tapestry that rests in my home these days, I can't help but think that, like it, I too am a living fabric, full of collective experiences, a bridge between what I was, what I am, and what I will be.
Three Generations, One Thread: Reflections in Tribute to Mothers from Araure, Portuguesa, Venezuela.
Carmen Simona, the Centenarian Grandmother
My grandmother wove like one who prays in silence—with devotion. Each quilt or doily was a story wrapped in thread, a testimony of patient love and wise hands. She lived a hundred years, and in each of them, she left stitches that still warm our winters. Even in old age, she kept entwining threads like one who recites a prayer with every crochet stitch, and in each piece, she wove a lesson in patience, perseverance, and tenderness. Her doilies didn’t just cover furniture—they covered souls.
Today, as we are visited by fragment #9 of the Caucasian Dragon Carpet in Araure, I feel that in those ancient arabesques, a piece of her spirit also lives on: the wisdom that only threads know how to keep.
Because in every knot there is history, in every stitch, memory. And in every mother, an entire universe to honor.
Trina Teresa, the Luminous Mother
My mother was a brief but unforgettable spark. Despite her illness, she embroidered hope onto tiny fabrics, dressing newborns in colors that defied sorrow. In her crossed threads lived a resilient hope, a faith that even illness couldn’t unravel. Though she left too soon, her embroidered legacy remained in every cross-stitch flower—like a whisper that still brings warmth to life.
When I beheld the ancient tapestry at Pergamon, I thought of her: of colors that never fade, of patterns that, though interrupted, still speak loudly and clearly.
Because in every knot there is history, in every stitch, memory. And in every mother, an entire universe to honor.
Capina, the Daughter Who Honors and Continues
Today, as I draw zentangles along lines, I know I weave with invisible threads that come from them. I draw with ink what my foremothers wove with yarn and needle. My zentangles decorate walls, but it is their threads that still trace the outlines of my existence. There is no line I draw that doesn’t carry their echo—their memories transformed into shapes and contours, their way of seeing the world.
Having the millennia-old Caucasian tapestry in Araure made me realize: we are all fragments of the same loom. They live in me, and I live so their legacy never unravels. I honor their art, their strength, and their tenderness with every stroke. For in this heritage of hands, time does not forget, and love does not come undone.
Because in every knot there is history, in every stitch, memory. And in every mother, an entire universe to honor.
Ever living. Ever woven into me.
The journey begins...
...with Fine Aufmkolk
#1: The Desire to Do Justice to Something Special
When the carpet came to me,
I didn't know what to do with it.
I waited, perplexed,
for us to warm up over time.
But he just lay there,
stubborn, reproachful.
Now he's leaving again,
but he's leaving a void behind.
#2: Metamorphosis and Resemblance
When the carpet becomes a landscape, scales become distorted.
The surface curves, lakes and rivers sneak into valleys.
Trees fray into smudged groves.
Meadows flow into the lowlands and clothe the slopes.
We get down on our knees and crawl into a world of threads and loops and colors and
invisible history, which can only be imagined without knowledge.
It remains hidden behind the beauty, both in the landscape and in the carpet.
#3: Pinocchio
The blue man is one of the few, if not the only, figurative elements on the carpet.
He takes on a life of his own.
He stands up and makes his escape, setting off into the wide world.
He multiplies and becomes many.
He deconstructs himself and transforms his varied form.
I would gladly wear him as a brooch or pendant; if I collected tattoos, he would be a part of me.
And so he would remain as a memory of my carpet piece #9.
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?
