weaving poems honors women carpet artisans of afghanistan at design doha

weaving poems: the ‘beating heart’ of design doha biennial

As the Design Doha Biennial casts a spotlight on the diversity of life, culture, and design in the Middle East and North Africa, Weaving Poems journeys into Afghanistan’s Bamiyan region to unravel centuries-old traditions of heritage and craftsmanship. Realized by Afghan-British designer Maryam Omar in collaboration with non-profit charity Turquoise Mountain, the exhibition pays tribute to the women artisans who have preserved the custom of hand carpet weaving in the central highlands while humming stories of nature’s cycles and community ties.

From hanging tapestries to screens narrating passages of communal poems, and poignant photography to recordings that amplify the voices of these women, Weaving Poems transforms the future theatre space of M7 into a multisensorial, contemplative workshop of the imagination. Slated the ‘beating heart of the biennial’ by Design Doha’s Artistic Director, Glenn Adamson, the exhibition immerses visitors in the enchanting darkness of the space illuminated only by gentle beams of light and poetic musings that invite reflection and appreciation of the region’s heritage.

image © Julián Velásquez, courtesy Qatar Museums

unraveling artisanal heritage from bamiyan’s highlands

Weaving Poems draws inspiration from the verses and rhythms that interlace the fabric of Afghan weaving tradition, evoking the collaborative creative atmosphere of the workshop in the mountains. Before taking to their looms, these weavers would prepare and distribute handmade delicacies to neighbors and guests, then offer prayers invoking blessings for the project, and finally recite a series of poems.

Collaborating closely with these women, Maryam Omar sparked a journey of exploration of color, form, and texture, translating their words into vivid visual compositions that encapsulate the region’s natural landscape. Experimenting with watercolor, gouache, ink, and metallic markers sweeps of color reflect the undulating valleys and contours of the mountains across paper, ceramic plates, and more for the initial sketches, exhibited on the entry wall. Through a process of digital manipulation, the sketches were then transferred and refined in a carpet graphing software, before being printed onto large-scale paper from which the weavers read and hand-knotted the carpets by eye.

Weaving Poems at Design Doha Biennial | image © Edward Sumner

realized by maryam omar and turquoise mountain

The carpets resonate with the essence of Afghanistan’s natural and cultural landscape, each becoming a canvas to narrate a tale. While some motifs represent the weaving process itself, others reflect azure skies, rugged mountains, earth, and verdant flora. ‘Some of the works are inspired by references to the landscapes of Bamiyan, for which I used overlapping, soft forms to reflect valleys and natural features. The references to fish in the pond, and shadows of weavers working on looms, are more recognizable, together with the words of poetry in a traditional script,’ shares Maryam Omar.

Weaving Poems is organized by Turquoise Mountain, founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2006 to revive traditional craftsmanship and support communities in areas where artisanal heritage is at risk by providing jobs, skills, and a renewed sense of pride. The exhibition’s carpets were hand woven in Bamiyan by Nakbakht, Shahra Bano, Sadiqa, Ruqia, Soqra, Razia, Ozra, Fatema, Zahra, Maryam, Masuma, Sharifa, Zahra, Sakina, Nakbakht, Malalay, Rahima, Noor Begum, Sajeda, Zainab, Aziza, Marziya, Zahra and Razia. ‘I connected with them to see what they do, how they start carpet weaving, and collected their poems. Their words. It’s about their voices, their hands, and how they work. Their surroundings, what kind of colors they see,’ Omar tells designboom.

realized by Maryam Omar with Turquoise Mountain | image © Julián Velásquez, courtesy Qatar Museums