2024-07-29 07:59:39
Organized by the Moroccan Embassy in Spain, the Royal Tapestry Factory and Atelier Talasin, a local cooperative of Amazigh women dedicated to making authentic Moroccan rugs, this exhibition brings together a selection of hand-knotted and flat-woven rugs made by master weavers with premium Siroua wool, dipped in henna harvested from the desert plateaus.
Supervised by renowned Indian designer Kavita Pamar, this event aims to showcase an ancestral and unique heritage of Morocco using ancient Amazigh knot weaving techniques, natural dyes and patterns respectful of local culture.
The collection highlights the uniqueness and artisanal signature of the Amazigh tribe community and culture, promoting the excellence and know-how of the women of the region and celebrating ancestral Moroccan culture.
The aim of this exhibition, the first of its kind in Spain, is to highlight this art rich in its ancient materials and processes and to go back to the source of this artisanal heritage built at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains.
Speaking on this occasion, the Moroccan Ambassador to Spain, Ms. Karima Benyaich, stressed that Amazigh is an essential component of Moroccan identity based on multilingualism and cultural diversity.
In this regard, Ms. Benyaich recalled the decision of HM King Mohammed VI to make the Amazigh New Year a paid holiday, highlighting the speech delivered by HM the King in July 2001 reiterating the Amazigh dimension of Moroccan identity, as well as the speech delivered by the Sovereign on October 17, 2001, which announced the creation of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture.
And to continue that the Constitution of 2011 enshrined the Amazigh language as an official language on the same level as Arabic, thus consolidating the cultural diversity of Morocco.
This exhibition is an opportunity to closely appreciate the know-how of the women of the High Atlas and their commitment to preserving a thousand-year-old art that resists commercialization and mass production, stressed Ms. Benyaich.
“The aim of this exhibition, which took two and a half years to prepare, is to show the knowledge, art and passion of these women of the High Atlas who, through their tapestries, teach the entire world the ancient culture of Morocco,” said Kavita Pamar, the exhibition curator, in a statement to MAP.
“It is important to preserve this art and culture, providing these women with all the necessary conditions so that future generations can continue to preserve this ancestral heritage,” she said.
“This exhibition is the culmination of a long journey whose main objective is to preserve a heritage that has existed in Morocco for several centuries,” declared Shane Ordovas, founder and manager of Atelier Talasin.
“On this occasion, I would like to salute the will and the spirit of involvement of the women of the cooperative and of the entire Moroccan team who made this project possible,” he added.
Visitors will have until February 23 to discover these “woven landscapes.”
2024-07-29 07:59:39