On March 10, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum hosted the opening ceremony of the Alaca Weaving Collective 6th exhibition. The exhibition is organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul Carpet Exporters’ Association (İHİB), Yunus Emre Institute, and Alaca Weaving Collective.
Amina Melikova, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum and Honored Worker of Culture; Saadat Yusifova, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Birol Akgun, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Türkiye to the Republic of Azerbaijan; Gokhan Seyhan, coordinator of the Yunus Emre Institute in Baku; Dr. Esen Baydemir, founder of the Alaca weaving collective, teacher of traditional Turkish art at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University delivered speeches at the event.
In their remarks, the speakers emphasized the importance of cultural cooperation between Azerbaijan and Türkiye, noting the necessity of preserving weaving as a shared heritage and passing it on to future generations. They also stated that such projects contribute to traditional arts gaining new forms of expression within the contemporary art environment.
The artistic part of the event included Azerbaijani and Turkish national dances performed by the Sema dance ensemble.
The Alaca exhibition presents the art of weaving not only as an example of tangible cultural heritage, but also as a form of visual thinking and collective memory. The exhibition features 38 works created in various themes and techniques by 23 artists. The main idea that unites these works is the understanding of weaving as a bearer of memory. The artists’ engagement with Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage, particularly its national ornaments and rich color palette, has created a foundation for the emergence of new forms of visual expression. This approach transforms the exhibition into not only an aesthetic presentation, but also a platform for dialogue built upon a shared weaving heritage that connects different geographies and cultural environments.
The Alaca project moves away from approaching weaving as a static example of heritage and instead invites it to be understood as a living, constantly evolving artistic language that brings together different cultures.
The presentation of the exhibition at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum organically connects the historical and cultural context of the venue with the concept of the project. Within this project, the museum functions not only as an exhibition space, but also as an active participant in the dialogue between tradition and modernity.
The Alaca Weaving Collective was founded in 2022 with the aim of presenting traditional weaving from a new perspective by synthesizing it with contemporary artistic explorations. The concept of Alaca expresses the harmonious unity created when different colors preserve their individuality while forming a single composition.
The exhibition will run until March 15.
