Special Exhibition:

We are not Carpets! I tell you my story.

September 27, 2024, until January 5, 2025

“The beauty of those carpets designed by the designer lies in the design.
But the beauty of this carpet lies in my heart.”
Anna Beik Koohi

WE ARE NOT CARPETS examines the centuries-long systematic marginalization and exploitation of carpet weavers. What happens when they weave their own stories rather than the patterns commissioned by clients?

The joint exhibition by weavers and researchers from Iran and Germany “WE ARE NOT CARPETS – I’ll Tell You My Story” shows newly created unique personal carpets and their stories, which are experienced in a cinematic and poetic way. The carpets are the result of the collaborative research project “Weaving Memories”, which offers weavers from the North Khorasan province in Iran a platform to tell their stories and present their craft as works of art. The carpets are accompanied by short poetic videos that were produced together with the weavers during the creation of the carpets. Some weavers from Iran will be present in the museum during the exhibition.

WE ARE NOT CARPETS offers visitors the opportunity to learn more about the lives and crafts of carpet weavers and to understand the global and local challenges of the exploitative economic and social system. At the same time, the exhibition also sheds light on the colonial and capitalist entanglements of exploitation that continue to have an impact today. WE ARE NOT CARPETS invites visitors to think about the hidden stories behind the carpets and how global economic connections, colonial history, and cultural ideas have shaped their production and meaning. An exciting accompanying program with weaving workshops for children and adults and discussion formats complement the experience.

The exhibition is a cooperation between the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum (RJM), the Cologne International Forum, the Global South Studies Center of the University of Cologne, and the FWO-funded research project “Weaving Memories” at Ghent University.