Another exhibition OJSC “Azerkhalcha” in order to popularize the rich cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in Europe – the art and schools of carpet weaving, which are considered our national and spiritual heritage, was held in Tallinn, the Azerkhalcha press service told Day.Az.
Exhibition “Flying carpets“was held with the support of the Azerbaijani Embassy and the organizational assistance of Azerkhalcha OJSC and the Academy of Career Education operating in Tallinn (Haridus Akadeemia Karjääer) in the famous Hopneri Maja Museum, located in the center of the capital of Estonia.
Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Estonia Anar Maharramov At the opening, he emphasized that the exhibition would serve to develop cultural ties between the two countries and give Estonian visitors the opportunity to become more familiar with the art of carpet weaving, which is the cultural heritage of our country. It was especially noted that today, after Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty, carpets belonging to the Karabakh carpet weaving school are shown to the audience with even greater pride.
Chairman of the Board of Azerkhalcha OJSC, Honored Artist Emin Mamedov, speaking about the history of the company, noted that Azerkhalcha, which has been operating since the first half of the 20th century, was restructured in 2016 by order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. It was noted that Azerbaijani folk applied art and carpet weaving, as one of its branches, occupy a unique place in the history of the national culture of the people; the carpets of all carpet weaving schools presented at the exhibition were described, including carpets belonging to the Karabakh, Gazakh, Nakhchivan and Shirvan schools carpet weaving. According to him, the main goal of Azerkhalcha is to preserve the traditions of carpet weaving and further develop this art. Emin Mamedov noted that when creating carpets produced by the Company, cooperation is carried out with local and foreign artists and designers, with reference to traditional carpets, and thus carpet art is constantly developing. He spoke about the important steps taken by Azerkhalcha, along with the production of carpets, in matters of preserving, developing and passing on the art of carpet weaving to future generations, attracting women weavers living, in particular, in the regions, into this area and providing work.
Head of the Hopneri Maja Museum Katrin Tuuksam assessed the first exhibition of Azerbaijani national carpets in the museum, which occupies a special place in the history of Estonia, as a significant event in the cultural life of her country, noting that this created the conditions for a closer acquaintance with Azerbaijani culture. Katrin Tuuksam emphasized that the exhibition will serve to bring the peoples of the two countries closer together.
After the official opening of the event, the audience was presented with samples from two collections of carpets. The Flying Carpets collection includes 11 woolen carpets of various sizes woven in both modern and classic styles, belonging to different schools of carpet weaving. And from the collection of carpets “A New Look at Karabakh Carpets”, or “44”, made on the occasion of the anniversary of the Patriotic War of Azerbaijan and the 11th anniversary of the inclusion of traditional carpet weaving art of Azerbaijan in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, two carpets were demonstrated.
With the help of the weaver “Azerkhalcha”, those who wished were also able to take part in the process of creating a classic Karabakh carpet.
The opening of the exhibition was attended by members of the Estonian government and parliament, heads of diplomatic missions, representatives of the public and the Azerbaijani community, and the media.
The exhibition, which will provide information about Azerbaijani art and carpet weaving schools to those interested, will run for a month. In addition to carpets, visitors will also be presented with a photo exhibition dedicated to the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan.
The exhibition, entitled “Magic Carpets”, was previously shown in Strasbourg, Brussels, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Riga and Liepaja – the 2024 European Capital of Culture.