Carpet Day is observed annually in Turkmenistan on the last Sunday of May to honour the Turkmen artisans who hand-weave these remarkable textiles. Carpet making is closely intertwined with the culture and history of Turkmenistan and carpet weaving is extremely important to the national economy. Traditional Turkmen carpet patterns are even depicted on the national flag and emblem of Turkmenistan, and contain significant symbolic meaning for the Turkmen people. During this lecture, visitors had an opportunity to not only learn about the rich cultural history of carpet weaving, but to also see handmade Turkmen rugs.
Guest Speaker: Natalia Nekrassova, Curator, Collections and Research, Textile Museum of Canada. Natalia Nekrassova is an expert on oriental rugs and arguably one of the most knowledgeable people on Turkmen carpets in North America