A six meter spiral carpet was laid down in Mestrovic pavilion today. Quite an unusual site for an art gallery, this colorfully mishmashed carpet and three girls sitting next to it, knitting away while crowds shopping on artOmat pass them by. Those who give them a puzzled look or approach them are greeted with a smile and an invitation to sit next to them and knit.
Carpet in the Making is an interactive collaborative project started in 2012 by Oloop collective from Slovenia and it’s, well, a carpet in perpetual making. The three designers, artists and producers Katja Burger, Tjasa Bavcon i Jasmina Fercek have been inviting people to their studio, visiting different events, workshops and galleries for three years, knitting their carpet little by little with the help of random strangers.
‘The point of the project is to gather people around the carpet, to spend time together in doing something creative, have intimate conversations with each other in the circle and rise awareness on the importance of textile manufacturing. Everyone who wants to get to know the carpet, read the stories on it or leave their own, everyone who wants to create or look at the process of creating is welcomed to join us’ explain the girls from Oloop.
People who want to join in do not need any previous experience in knitting or any tools, Oloop will gladly teach anyone the simple technique of crochet and help them leave a bit of themselves on the evergrowing carpet, be them young kids, aspiring twenty-somethings or seasoned grandmas.
Oloop collective was founded in 2004, when they opened a Center for contemporary textile art and design in Ljubljana. The collective is active in different fields of visual based production, from product, interior and landscape design to textile art, and had won several design awards including Red Dot Concept.
Carpet in the Making workshops will be held as part of artOmat Christmas market in Mestrovic pavilion on Saturday and Sunday, December 19th and 20th. Oloop will knit the carpet throughout the day and anybody interested will be able to join in from 4pm on Saturday and 5pm on Sunday.
All workshops on artOmat are free to attend.
