Exhibition Opening: We are not carpets vom 6. bis 31 Oktober im Poool, Siegen zu sehen
Carpets as a medium of storytelling
by Tahereh Aboofazeli and Arjang Omrani
SFB 1187 “Media of Cooperation” hosts the exhibition WE ARE NOT CARPETS: I tell you my story, which will be open from October 6 to 31, 2025, at Poool Kunstraum in Siegen. Five art weavers from the North Khorasan region of Iran participate in the exhibition, showcasing eight life-size carpets and sharing their deeply personal stories.
About the exhibition
The exhibition presents newly created, uniquely personal carpets from Iran, which are experienced in a poetic, cinematic and sensory way together with the stories of their creators.
The exhibition thus attempts to bring a dissensus between a carpet and a Carpet: What if, instead of weaving the commissioned and market-designed motifs, they were to weave your own story? They were to bind it with their own names, stories, colors, patterns and aesthetic?
Through these carpets artist weavers from the North Khorasan tell their stories by transforming their craft into a medium of storytelling and works of art. The exhibition thus attempts to bring an interruption of the order through which the regime of carpet production and trade has diminished the weaver to a mere machine. The presented carpets invite visitors to reflect on the hidden stories and cultural connections that have shaped the production and meaning of carpets. The exhibition encourages visitors to engage with the trajectory of marginalisation and exploitation of those who weave, shedding light on the colonial and capitalist entanglements of exploitation that continue to have an impact today.
The presented carpets are the result of the collaborative research project “Weaving Memories” by Tahereh Aboofazeli (University of Cologne) and Arjang Omrani (Ghent University). Ten artist weavers from this region have participated in the „Weaving Memories“ project. Among those, five artist weavers are taking part in the installation in Siegen: Masoumeh Zolfaghari, Asieh Davari, Saheb Jamal Rahimi, Taqan Beik Barzin and Zohreh Parvin. Zoleikha Davari provides additional support with stabilizing weaving work.
Visitors are offered the opportunity to learn more about the lives and craft of artist weavers and the global and local challenges.
Opening:
Monday, 10/06 from 5 p.m.
regular opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday 3 to 7 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 1 to 6 p.m.
Every weekend: carpet café with free pastries, coffee, and tea.
Location
POOOL
art space of the group 3/55 e.V.
Löhrstr. 3, Siegen
The exhibition is curated by Tahereh Aboofazeli (University of Cologne) and Arjang Omrani (Ghent University) in cooperation with the DFG funded Collaborative Research Center (SFB 1187) “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen.