The Azerbaijani carpet art, which embodies our people’s spiritual world, sense of beauty, innate talent, and philosophical worldview in mysterious patterns, has an ancient history. Although carpets have been woven in our country for centuries, the “Carpet Maker’s Day” has been officially celebrated on May 5 for the past nine years, marking the establishment of the “Azerkhalcha” Open Joint Stock Company.

According to “EDnews", carpet makers celebrate their professional holiday during a remarkable period on the eve of National Leader Heydar Aliyev’s birthday. The establishment of such a commemorative day is one of the fruits of the independence gifted to us by our National Leader. Without an independent Azerbaijan, the national art of carpet weaving would not have spread so widely, nor would Carpet Maker’s Day have been recognized.

President Ilham Aliyev, who successfully continues the path of the Great Leader, also pays great attention and care to the development of carpet weaving. By presidential decrees, the creation of the “Azerkhalcha” OJSC, the establishment of the professional holiday “Carpet Maker’s Day,” and the construction of carpet production workshops across cities and regions of the country are vivid manifestations of state support for this art form.

Under President Ilham Aliyev’s guidance, recognizing the importance of carpet weaving in the national economy, more than 20 branches of “Azerkhalcha” were established and started operations between 2016 and 2020.

First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva also makes valuable contributions to preserving the carpet weaving tradition, which plays a major role in the development of our national culture. Her support has been pivotal in solving carpet weavers’ problems, expanding their opportunities, and promoting their achievements internationally. Thanks to her initiative, at the 5th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Nairobi, Kenya, Azerbaijani carpet weaving was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This is a reality: no other country shows as much attention to carpet art as Azerbaijan. The development of carpet weaving here is envisioned as a long-term historical mission. During this time, skilled carpet experts will be trained, people will master the secrets of the craft, and thus, carpet weaving will be preserved — along with the history and culture of Azerbaijan, which will be passed on to future generations.

The carpets produced by “Azerkhalcha” are woven based on designs developed by carpet artists. For the first time in the world, Azerbaijan has created electronic versions of new designs based on ancient and original carpets. These designs have been cataloged under regional groups such as Baku, Karabakh, Nakhchivan, Iravan, Tabriz, Shirvan, Guba, Ganja, and Gazakh-Borchali. Priority is given to creating designs based on rare Azerbaijani carpets and items preserved in world museums and collections.

One of the main objectives of the “State Program on the Protection and Development of Carpet Art in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2018–2022” was to promote Azerbaijani carpets as a national brand and export them to the global market.

The creation, development, and international promotion of the “Azerbaijan Carpet” brand was entrusted to the Ministry of Economy and “Azerkhalcha” OJSC. The brand has already been established, and now, carpets with national patterns are being exported under the “Azerbaijan Carpet” label. For this purpose, cooperation has been established with companies from the USA, Russia, Japan, and Sweden. In 2019, the Swedish company applied to “Azerkhalcha” to import Azerbaijani carpets. Following the evaluation of this proposal, a store was opened in the “Vikjö” shopping center in Stockholm, where various carpets from Baku, Karabakh, Guba, Shirvan, and Ganja groups were made available for sale.

It is also worth mentioning that every year, the International Carpet Festival is held in Icherisheher. The main goal of the festival is to promote Azerbaijani carpet art globally, showcase its rich heritage and future development prospects, and benefit from the experience and skills of international carpet makers. Therefore, the festival program is rich and diverse, catering to the interests of guests of all ages. The event features a magical entertainment program, colorful concerts, an open-air cinema, and fairs involving local brands and artisans.

Visitors to the festival had the opportunity to meet 28 female weavers from 14 workshops of “Azerkhalcha” operating in different regions of the country, as well as a large processing team and creative group who demonstrated the beauty of carpet-making and held masterclasses.

It should be noted that this year’s festival coincided with two significant anniversaries: the 25th anniversary of Icherisheher’s inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the 15th anniversary of the inclusion of Azerbaijani traditional carpet weaving in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Madina Mammadova\\EDnews