Consider the lives of hand-woven carpets and consider the lives of their weavers. Earth and Sky: Carpet Cultures of Asia foregrounds the perspectives of weavers, their families and communities in an exhibition of hand-woven textiles — particularly carpets — from across Asia.
“Carpets bring people together, “ says Nickle Galleries curator Michele Hardy while leading a tour. “They are a platform for discussion and performance … A carpet is like a garden, and a garden is a reflection of something more sacred.”
The textiles on view are significant hand-crafted artworks. Soft surfaces, warm tones and high ceilings extend a compelling invitation to explore the exhibit. These carpets also had functional lives, defining a place where people performed, gathered, took comfort, shared hospitality, celebrated, and took part in the ceremony.
Hand weaving is a tradition embedded in many cultures worldwide. “The loom, the kind of wool, the kind of knots, the designs, the colours, all of those are regional,” says Hardy. According to Hardy, individual regions will have different craft habits, access to various materials, and different cultural imperatives that they want to communicate.
Many of the weavers’ names are lost to the sands of time. In most cases, these textiles would have been woven by a small community of weavers whose individual histories intersected as they worked together. In one section, there are handwoven pattern samples called “Vagireh.” These were likely used to share and teach patterns or for commercial negotiation.
Weaving tools and weaving scripts are also on display. Here, Hardy encourages us to “think about the weavers, weaving in real time and space, and how their knowledge is transmitted.” She asks, “When we put the idea of a weaver back into the picture … How does that change the narrative? How does that change how we respond to these and what we think of them? How does that help to decolonize some of our thinking around these objects?”
In a cozy pillowed nook, a short video focuses on weavers practicing something called “Pattern singing,” a process where they literally croon the weaving design to one another. Knowledge of a particular pattern is often hereditary and passed down from one generation to the next.
In another section, the exhibit puts the weaver and their family back into the picture, looking at textiles that were used in everyday life and for special occasions. Hardy directs our attention to a pair of long weavings hung on the wall. “These two are architectural textiles,” she says. “They were used as dividing walls within tents or, in that case, a yurt. This one is from Kyrgyzstan in the east, and that is Kurdish from the west.”
The final section is “broadly about gestures or performance, thinking about not only what happens on the carpet, but these larger gestures of trade and connection with other places.” Here are some of the oldest and largest textiles on display. Hardy calls our attention to the long-lasting, all-natural colours. “Look how vibrant they are after all that time. It is astonishing … there are three blues, multiple reds, there’s yellow, white, green, indigo … it’s quite phenomenal.”
The older carpets usually feature natural dyes made from plants, molluscs or insects. “If flipped over, you would see all of the repairs. There are many patches and areas where they are filled with new work to try and keep it whole.”
As Hardy tours through the exhibition’s final section, she muses, “Textiles that are sometimes three to four hundred years old. They have had lives, and they have been used … they have been well loved.”
Earth and Sky: Carpet Cultures of Asia closes on April 26. Curator Michele Hardy leads an exhibition tour on April 11 at 11 a.m. Register at nickle.ucalgary.ca.
Nickle Galleries is located on the Ground Floor of the Taylor Family Digital Library at the University of Calgary. It can be accessed for free Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with hours extended to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In The Galleries This Month
Illingworth Kerr Gallery
MFA Thesis Exhibition 2025
Until April 12
Get a taste of the art of tomorrow with an exhibition of final works created by MFA students in Craft Media at AUArts. Contemporary Calgary.
Contemporary Calgary
June Clark: Witness
until August 31
Opening on April 3, the work of Toronto-based artist June Clark explores how history, memory, and identity have shaped her work.
Esker Foundation
Megan Feniak: With All Our Vernal Suns
Until June 8
This installation includes a vast wooden chain with links carved to resemble various species of moths and butterflies, adding to the exhibit’s exploration of ephemera and fragility.
