Turkey Weaving Atlas Project aims to revive the traditional weavings of Turkey and to represent them in the international arena. The "Turkish Weaving Atlas Project", which was conducted as an output of the renewal efforts of the Maturation Institutes, is carried out by the Istanbul Sabancı Beylerbeyi Maturation Institute, which is affiliated to the Ministry of National Education's (MEB) General Directorate of Lifelong Learning. The project, which is carried out with the support of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association and with the support of Marmara University, is also supported by the Turkish Exporters Assembly and the Ministry of Trade. Coordinated by Ayşe Dizman and curated by Güneş Güner, the exhibition features more than 140 weaving patterns brought together from various regions of Turkey by tracking regional routes. There are also pieces from Ottoman Fabrics in the collection of the collector Yusuf İyilik.
An Important Mission in Carrying Cultural Heritage to the Future
While emphasizing on the importance of bringing together traditional arts with modern designs while not compromising of their core essence, which bases the foundation of the vision of the Turkey Weaving Atlas Project, Minister of Education Mahmut Özer said, ''We have about 24 Maturation Institutes in Turkey. The aim of these institutes is to follow the traces of different civilizations in these lands in the province they are in, to bring them back to life, to enrich them with new forms and to make them accessible to our citizens. Today, Turkey's Weaving Atlas fulfills a very important mission for our citizens to come across and to carry this cultural heritage to the future by bringing together all the acquis from weaving-related fabrics to techniques in all four corners of Turkey, while putting this mission and vision of our maturation institutes at the top of their efforts. On the one hand, while not only in the field of woven textiles, but also in all other fields, by keeping them alive and by bringing them to the present day, and on the other hand, by injecting it into daily life with new forms, on the basis of how far we can carry it to the future, then in the 21st century we can advance as a country with an identity to have a word amongst the leading nations sphere and to have a prominence amongst the ruling nations.’’
While expressing own pleasure at the Istanbul opening of the Turkey Weaving Atlas Exhibition, TİM President İsmail Gülle, ‘’Weaving culture, one of the most precious cultural treasures of our Anatolian geography, reveals the design and production power of our deep-rooted Turkish textile history. Turkey's Weaving Atlas Project is a milestone at the point of unearthing, preserving and transferring this historical heritage to future generations. Our weaving culture, which has a rich design power, will live and keep it alive with the project; at the same time, by branding our country, it will support Turkey's value-added export increase on a global scale. As the export family, we are working hard to carry our values to the future by following the footsteps of our ancestors. I sincerely believe that we can carry our economy, which is rising with exports, to much further by defending all our values together. In this respect, Turkey Weaving Atlas Project is quite valuable.’’
Turkey Will Introduce Its Weaving Atlas to the Whole World
Ahmet Öksüz, President of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association (İTHİB), emphasizing that the Turkish textile industry's annual export success of 13 billion dollars comes from the power fed by cultural heritage, said, "We do not shed light on the past with the installations created with the "Turkey Weaving Atlas" project. At the same time, we aim to preserve our traditional weaving culture, which is on the verge of disappearing, and to transfer this cultural richness to the future. In this context, we recently shared the outputs of our Weaving Atlas Project with the international public at Premiere Vision Paris, one of the most prestigious fabric fairs in the world, and at Dubai Expo Turkey pavilion. In the upcoming period, we will continue to announce the Turkey Weaving Atlas Project to the whole world, especially to the USA. Because as one of the stakeholders of this project; to playing a role in this bridge established between the past and the future and to increasing the awareness of this historical heritage on a global scale is invaluable for our association and our industry.”
