"A new look at national heritage" project presented in Baku

By Azernews

Laman Ismayilova

"A new look at national heritage" project has been presented in Baku. The project was implemented jointly by Azerxalca OJSC, AFFFAIR brand, and the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum in partnership with PASHA Holding, PASHA Bank, and Kapital Bank.

The exposition presents carpets woven by Azerxalca masters based on the collection of the world-famous Azerbaijani designer, founder of AFFFAIR Rufat Ismayil with elements of ancient carpets Achma-yumma, Karabakh, Nakhchivan, stored a the National Carpet Museum, as well as Paziriq carpet from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and Shabakali carpet by the People's Artist of Azerbaijan Eldar Mikayilzada.

Speaking at the event, director of the National Carpet Museum, Ph.D. in Art History and Honored Cultural Worker Shirin Malikova noted that national carpet weaving with its stylized pattern language, color, and artistic excellence has an ancient history, and is included in UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

"The Azerbaijani carpet weaving has a long history, it is classical art. The carpet-weaving is one of the oldest types of decorative and applied art in Azerbaijan. Carpets and rugs made in Azerbaijan have been repeatedly praised in many historical books, pieces of classical literature, and folklore, and are stored in the best museums in the world," Shirin Malikova said.

With the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Heydar Aliyev Center successfully hosted the presentation of new carpets and a defile of AFFFAIR in carpet costumes by Rufat Ismayil, based on Azerbaijani carpets in June 2022.

Presented new carpets are those created by the creative team of Azerxalca OJSC, based on the design developed by Rufat Ismayil and inspired by the elements of ancient elements Achma-yumma, Karabakh, Nakhchivan, Ovchuluq, Paziriq.

Special attention was paid to the Sumax clothing collection, created with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, by fashion designer Rufat Ismayil, using motifs, rich colors, and patterns of Azerbaijani carpets and dedicated to Azerbaijan's Karabakh victory. The organizers of the current project decided to continue the trend, but only this time the motifs from the designer's collection were embodied in carpets.

Chairman of the Board of Azerxalca, Honored Art Worker Emin Mammadov stressed that the main idea of the modern carpet collection created jointly with AFFFAIR is to show that the Azerbaijani carpet is an inextinguishable source of art, an adornment of the family hearth, a unique piece of art that gives the interior a special energy.

The main goal of the project, dedicated to the Victory in the 44-day Patriotic War and the liberation of Karabakh, and inspired by the traditions of national carpet weaving, in particular the Karabakh school, is also the preservation of historical traditions in modern directions.

"For the development and promotion of national carpet weaving, it is necessary to take into account modern trends and a creative approach, while maintaining historical traditions. After all, carpet art is on the path of development and the search for new ideas that we are trying to implement. The works of Azerkhalcha presented here, created in five dresses from the collection of Rufat Ismayil and chosen by him for the implementation of the project, were released in limited quantity - 25 copies each. This project has become another embodiment of the conceptual approach of synthesis of ancient traditions and modern trends," Emin Mammadov said.

Each of these samples of modern carpet was donated to the collection of the National Carpet Museum in order to preserve, modernize and pass the cultural heritage on to future generations.

In his speech, Director of Government Relations and CSR Department of PASHA Holding Nazim Safarov emphasized the project's importance and highlighted PASHA Holding's activities in cultural and art fields as well as the implementation of social initiatives.

Fashion designer Rufat Ismayil, who has been living and working in Turkiye over the past years, expressed his gladness to carry out this project in his homeland.

"The Azerbaijani national motifs reflected in my collections, including those with carpet ornaments, are of great interest on world podiums. This is very important for the promotion of Azerbaijani culture, and I will continue my work in this direction," said Rufat Ismayil.

The exposition aroused great interest among the guests, among whom were well-known cultural and art figures, representatives of the creative intelligentsia and youth as well as diplomatic missions.