On 7 July 2021, the Historic-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve The Kazan Kremlin hosted the opening ceremony of the exhibition Carpet Art, Evolution of Meanings. An exhibition of Azerbaijani carpet weaving art, its traditions, and contemporary designs was on display for the first time in Kazan. The exhibition at Kazan Kremlin will run through 5 September 2021.
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum demonstrates here the traditional masterpieces of carpet weaving art of the 19th and 20th centuries. Every single one of these carpets embodies a particular regional tradition based on their ornamental features, colors, and technical solutions. The exhibition displays traditional Azerbaijani carpets and author works by Chingiz Babayev.
Irada Ayupova, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, Shirin Melikova, project curator, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Irek Sharipov, Director of the Tatarstan House of Peoples’ Friendship, Bahram Mustafayev, Head of the Regional Public Organization of Azerbaijanis in the Republic of Tatarstan, Svetlana Konovalova, Deputy Director of the Historic-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve The Kazan Kremlin delivered speeches at the opening ceremony and mentioned the importance of the project.
Following, the guests got acquainted with the exhibition. Dr Shirin Melikova, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum gave detailed information about the displayed traditional Guba, Gazakh, and Karabakh carpets, and the semantics of their deeply significant ornaments. Artist Chingiz Babayev (Chingiz) spoke about his carpets, their history and work process.
The Azerbaijani carpet weaving art is flourishing and is enriched by new trends without losing its ancient traditions. Contemporary artists create original works developing this ancient craft.
The contemporary artist shows the viewer sketches and carpets designed in his own language of ornaments and new carpet dramaturgy. The installation Blank History presented at the exhibition can be considered as a key to the artist’s creativity. A carpet without an ornament, monochromatic, in a shade of natural wool, is the starting point, tabula rasa, an appeal to eternity: many symbols of different epochs fall off it over the past centuries.