Istanbul is hosting the 15th International Conference on Oriental Carpets (ICOC) at The Marmara Taksim, featuring the "Women Behind the Weave" exhibition to fund a new weaving workshop in the earthquake-stricken city, Hatay.

Organized by the Istanbul Carpet Exporters' Association (İHIB) with support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Trade, and sponsored by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association (ITHIB) and Arkas Art Bornova, the conference will run until June 9, with participants including world-renowned carpet, kilim, and weaving experts, art historians, academics, and collectors. Exhibitions showcasing priceless carpets, kilims and weavings will also be part of the event.

Ahmet Hayri Diler, the chairperson of İHIB, organizing the event in Türkiye, said: "We consider carpets, kilims and weavings more as works of art like paintings and sculptures than mere commercial goods. Weaving is one of the greatest cultural treasures of these lands. The ICOC Istanbul conference is a great opportunity to show the world once again that the homeland of carpet, kilim and weaving art is Anatolia, and to pass our traditional art to future generations."

İHIB board member and ICOC Istanbul local committee chairperson Serra Oruç emphasized that the ICOC will look to the future for the first time, stating: "The purpose of the international conference, held every four years, is to develop the awareness of collecting and to demonstrate that carpets and kilims are cultural and artistic artifacts. At the meeting in Istanbul, we aim to open a horizon by adopting a timeline from the past to the future for the first time. We want to discuss the future of the weaving tradition. Researchers from around the world have prepared their presentations in this context. We are excited to make a valuable contribution to both the academic environment and the industry."

Carpet, kilim, weaving experts

American art historian Walter Denny, an expert in Islamic Arts and Middle Eastern History, will deliver the opening speech of the ICOC Istanbul conference. The renowned academic will share his observations on the recent past and present, followed by a discussion on the future of carpet studies. Sessions on June 7-8 will feature leading academics and experts presenting papers on the past, present, and future of weaving art. The presentations, grouped by geographical origin, will cover structural analysis, technique, design, production, origins, dating, documented evidence, scientific tests, collection/collectors, counterfeit/copy productions, conservation, and restoration.

Uşak, London, Berlin, Istanbul

During the conference at The Marmara Taksim, ITHIB’s "Weaving Atlas" and the "Women Behind the Weave" exhibition, returning to its homeland after stops in London and Berlin, will be on display. The exhibition, organized by the Christopher Farr brand, features contemporary carpets and kilims produced by women weavers in Uşak. Proceeds from the weavings exhibited will be used to establish a weaving workshop in Hatay, one of the areas most affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes. Christopher Farr founder Matthew Bourne will share the project’s story with participants on June 7.

Antiques in palace, contemporaries in gallery

This year’s ICOC program includes not only the conference and fair but also main exhibitions at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, Dolmabahçe Palace Art Gallery, and Tophane-i Amire, as well as a pop-up exhibition by artist Belkıs Balpınar at the Anna Laudel Gallery, a selection from the Josephine Powell collection at the Vehbi Koç Foundation Büyükdere House, and parallel exhibitions of works from the collections of Anas Al Akhoann and Sandre Blake at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.

The "Woven Treasures: Carpets and Fabrics from the Ottoman Palace" exhibition at the Dolmabahçe Palace Art Gallery will, for the first time, showcase carpets and textiles from palace collections along this historical timeline.

The "Colors of Anatolia: Kilims from Private Collections" exhibition at Tophane-i Amire features kilims and objects gathered from collections worldwide. This exhibition, reflecting the value private collections in Türkiye place on carpets and kilims, and encouraging new collectors, includes works lent by collectors such as Ali Rıza Tuna, Işıl Akbaygil, Peter Scholten, Thomas Herr, Tim Hayes and Ziya Bozoğlu.

These two exhibitions, opening with the conference, will be on view for one month.

Oral history of Anatolia

The "Art Knotted with Love: Turkish Carpets" exhibition at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum features 45 works selected from the museum’s collection, spanning from the 13th to the 17th century and a wide geography. The exhibition aims to provide a new dialogue space for carpet experts and enthusiasts, showcasing pieces restored and brought back to life, most of which have not been previously exhibited or published.

The "Ottoman Period Syrian and Lebanese Weavings" exhibition in the Hippodrome Hall of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum includes works lent from the Anas Al Akhoann and Sandre Blake collections, featuring prayer rugs with silver and gold embroidery, examples of period clothing, pillow covers, and tablecloths. The exhibition highlights the skills, artistry, and expertise of weavers from Syria, Beirut, Aleppo, Damascus, and surrounding areas from 1850 to 1930.

The exhibitions at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum will open on June 8 and be on view for two months.

Josephine Powell revisited

American photographer, collector, and traveler Josephine Powell is renowned for her research on weaving. A significant portion of the more than 30,000 visuals she focused on during her travels in Türkiye from 1974 to 1994 comprises examples of weavings such as carpets, kilims and cicim. The collection also includes themes related to these weaving examples and 30 volumes of field notes.

The "Josephine Powell Anatolian Kilims Collection" exhibited at the Vehbi Koç Foundation Büyükdere House encompasses valuable weaving visuals and records from a cultural geography extending from Central Asia to Türkiye. The collection, resulting from this effort, consists of 400 weaving works and over 1,000 wooden and metal objects and will be revisited by viewers after many years as part of the 15th International Conference on Oriental Carpets.

Belkıs Balpınar’s pop-up exhibition

The exhibition at Anna Laudel Gallery in Gümüşsuyu bears the signature of Belkıs Balpınar. A graduate of the Textile Department of Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts and former curator of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, Balpınar worked with master weavers for 25 years, producing textile products. One of the greatest living masters of carpet, kilim, cicim, and similar weaving arts, Balpınar’s pop-up exhibition "Relative Perspectives" at Anna Laudel Gallery will be on view from June 6-9, coinciding with ICOC Istanbul.

Tracing the origins of textile art back 10,000 years to Southeastern Anatolia, Balpınar reinterprets traditional weaving techniques and patterns, moving beyond conventional forms and patterns in terms of time, space, and dimension. Defining her artistic approach as "unraveling weaving," Balpınar establishes a captivating theme encompassing micro and macro universes. By deliberately leaving certain parts of her works unwoven, she creates intriguing shadows in the background, adding a fourth dimension to her three-dimensional works.

Belkıs Balpınar’s "Relative Perspectives" reflects her journey exploring the mysteries of different spatial planes away from the chaos of the earth, offering an insight into the artist’s unique creative language. The exhibition invites visitors on a visual and intellectual journey, experiencing the harmony between art and science.