(MENAFN- AzerNews) On November 18,“Azerkhalcha” OJSC, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Albania and Tirana Art Gallery, with the support of Tirana City Municipality, held the next exhibition of Azerbaijani carpets in Europe at Tirana Art Gallery.

The exhibition is dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the inclusion of the traditional art of carpet weaving in the UNESCO Representative List of intangible cultural heritage with the direct initiative and support of the first vice-president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva. The next day, on November 19, a meeting and master classes were held between students of art faculties of various educational institutions and Azerbaijani artists.

The special event organized to mark the opening of the "May your hands remain well!" exhibition was attended by officials of Albanian state institutions, members of parliament, representatives of the diplomatic corps in Tirana, media representatives, representatives of science and academic circles, artists and cultural figures, as well as members of Azerbaijani, Turkish and other communities living in Albania.

The "May your hands remain well!" carpet collection includes traditional carpets from the Karabakh, Guba and Shirvan carpet weaving schools woven in the workshops of“Azerkhalcha” OJSC, as well as works from various special collections. These include one carpet from the“44” collection of“Azerkhalcha” OJSC in collaboration with Rashad Alekperov, two carpets from the “Architect of Memory” and“Woman” collections with Aydan Salahova, one carpet from a joint project with Faig Ahmed, three exclusive carpets from the“Pomegranate Symphony” collection with young artist Samira Allahverdiyeva, and two -“Nakhchivan” and“Qarabagh” carpets by Rufat Ismayil in collaboration with“AFFFAIR”. In addition, the exhibition will feature two carpets by the Albanian artist Xhevahir Kolgji, who in his works connects East and West and thus tries to destroy the borders.

The exhibition was declared open by the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Albania, Anar Huseynov. The Diplomat informed about the history of carpet weaving, which is one of the vivid examples of Azerbaijan's ancient and rich cultural heritage, and the state's care for the development of this art in our country. The ambassador noted that the purpose of the exhibition is to convey the culture and truth of Azerbaijan to local residents through art. The two-month exhibition will contribute to the rapprochement of the peoples of Azerbaijan and Albania. He thanked the municipality of Tirana for the conditions created for the exhibition.

During his speech, Chairman of the Board of Directors of "Azerkhalcha" OJSC, Honored Artist Emin Mammadov congratulated the event participants on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the November 8 Victory Day and the magnificent victory, which we recently celebrated and which is written in golden letters in the centuries-old history of our people, and spoke about the history of the organization. The Chairman said that the main goal of “Azerkhalcha" OJSC is to preserve the tradition of carpet weaving and further develop this art. He stressed that Azerbaijani folk-applied art and its branch, carpet weaving, occupy a special place in the history of the national culture of our people. E.Mammadov spoke about the short history of various carpets displayed at the exhibition and spoke about the future plans and main goals of“Azerkhalcha” OJSC.

Then, Director of The Art Gallery of Tirana Edith Pula and Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Albania to Azerbaijan Besart Kadia, who visited his homeland for this exhibition, continued the event with their speeches.

In order to promote the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan to the world, protect our national spiritual heritage, adapt it to the modern era and pass it on to future generations, and support the promotion of the art of carpet weaving, the "Qarabakh" and "Nakhchivan" carpets, belonging to the joint "A New Look at Cultural Heritage" collection of "Azerkhalcha" OJSC and "AFFFAIR", were donated to the Tirana Art Gallery by "PASHA Holding" and "PASHA Bank". These carpets will continue to be displayed in the gallery's permanent collection. At the same time, another example of”Nakhchivan“ carpet was presented by”Pasha Holding" to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania as a gift.

The process of weaving a real Azerbaijani carpet was demonstrated and master classes were held for the visitors of the exhibition. Participants of the exhibition have the opportunity to make their own loops on the carpet. A special certificate of “Azerkhalcha” OJSC was also presented to everyone who participated in the weaving process of the Azerbaijani carpet. The exhibition will last until January 20.

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