02252017 International Carpet Symposium at Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Announces Carpet Design Competition

The Symposium has issued a call for papers from scientists specializing in the field internationally, and those accepted will be invited to present at the event on topics outlined in a formal invitation (read invite here).

 

A highlight of the event will be a carpet design competition sponsored by the organizers of the symposium: the Baku Turkish Cultural Center of the Yunus Emre Institute, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum.  Entitled 'Common Turkic Symbol in Carpets', the carpet sketch competition is open to artists internationally, including U.S. designers.

 

 

 

At last year's first International Symposium, held June 2 - 3, 2016 at the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, an original carpet was created to symbolize the event by the museum's weavers. Based on a sketch by the Taryer Bashirov, a weaver at the museum, the carpet's central field combines traditional patterns of all Turkic countries. It was named 'Turkun inanji - tarikhin gazanji' [Belief of the Turkics, Gain of History].

 

Participants of the 2017 competition must be over age 22 and sketches will be accepted through April 1, 2017. The jury includes representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Ibrahim Yildirim, director of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum; and Omar Eldarov, rector of the Azerbaijan State Art Academy. They will shortlist the first and second place winners, and 20 creative carpet sketches will be posted on the Symposium Facebook page, with the winners will awarded with the Social Media prize.

 

The first place winner's sketch will be translated into a woven carpet. First and second place winners will receive a travel award: an Azerbaijani citizen will get a three-day trip to Istanbul; a citizen of a foreign country will get a three-day trip to Baku. The Organizers will provide travel, accommodation costs and per diem for the competition winners.

 

 

 

 

Founded in 1967, the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was at that time the world's first museum to specialize in the study, storage, and exhibition of carpets and carpet products. Today, the museum is housed in a dramatic building in the Seaside Park section of Baku, and has a large and rich collection of Azerbaijani carpets and textiles, embroidery, national costumes.

 

"The main building of the Museum is shaped as a partially rolled carpet and consists of five floors," explains Firahnaz Musayeva, head of the International Relations and Innovation department of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum. We have weavers at the museum on each floor. On the three floors of exposition our weavers show visitors the techniques of weaving. And we have a shop at the lobby where we sell carpets made by our weavers."

 

One of the most important tasks of the museum is the proper storage, timely conservation, and in some cases, restoration of exhibits. The museum consistently works toward is mission and plans to open a restoration center, as it continues to train qualified personnel and purchase necessary equipment. The museum has actively begun to establish relations with restoration centers in different countries.

 

 

 

Carpet design sketches will be accepted from January 25 to April 1. Those interested in participating in the competition should submit carpet sketches to carpetcontest@gmail.com in a scanned version of JPG 600 DPI format.

 

Symposium papers may be submitted by April and accepted authors will be notified by April 15. Papers should be submitted to carpetsymposium@gmail.com