In parallel with the Dubai Shopping Festival 2014, the 19th edition of the Carpet and Art Oasis kicks off today 2nd of January. Organized by Dubai Customs at Dubai Festival City, the exhibition will run till 2nd of February, featuring a vast participation of more than 60 exhibitors, with a rise of 20% compared to last year.
“Dubai Customs’ Carpet and Art Oasis is one of the most remarkable events regularly scheduled for Dubai Shopping Festival,” said Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Director General of Dubai Customs; who noted that DSF has positioned Dubai as the primary destination for tourists and visitors at this time of the year. “Dubai Customs is proud to organize the Carpet and Art Oasis that increasingly attracts larger crowds, giving Dubai Shopping Festival greater splendor as traders, rug lovers and visitors gather in to acquire some of the scarcest and most gorgeous handcrafted carpets,” he said.
Keenly organized by Dubai Customs every year since the first launch of Dubai Shopping Festival in 1996, the oasis exhibition has been closely connected with the festival as one of its core activities. The event is gaining grandeur year after year, featuring a multitude of rare and exquisite carpets brought forth from the world’s most famous carpet handcrafting countries.
This year, the organizers have decided to increase the exhibition area by 30%, in a bid to position the oasis as the biggest platform for handmade carpets worldwide. The new edition showcases more than 150,000 pieces, with a total market value worth Dh1 billion.
Participating firms are displaying some of fine and sumptuous carpets, handcrafted in well-known rug making areas like Qom, Tabriz and Esfahan in Iran, as well as the most renowned wool carpet factories in Afghanistan; alongside the exotic cashmere carpets and other items on display by exhibitors from Turkey, India, China, Turkmenistan and Pakistan.
The new edition of Carpet and Art Oasis also features the completed Naseej Al Walaa - “loyalty weave” - Portrait, an initiative that was launched by Dubai Customs to knit a handmade carpet portrait of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Executed by Carpet and Art Oasis visiting mothers, the initiative was held under the patronage of Shaikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, consort of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. A special hall is dedicated to accommodate the piece of art. It contains a traditional loom that is used to make the carpet which is woven with silk and wool yarns. In addition, a space has been assigned for women contributing in making the portrait.
The woven portrait is regarded as a form of showing gratitude and recognition by mothers of the UAE to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, who has dedicated many valuable initiatives and contributions to women, and has showed constant interest in women’s social and domestic welfare as well as engagement in all fields of work. As a result, women in the UAE are now holding superior positions, besides enjoying all rights due to them under Islamic sharia and by international and local laws.
An exquisite piece of art, the Naseej Al Walaa Portrait features numerous stitches and rich colors, as it has about one million and fifty thousand knots and over 120 natural colors spread over an area of nearly 4.5 square meters, with a height of 1.80 meters and a width of 1 meter. Made of 50% pure silk and 50% natural wool, the carpet was accomplished in cooperation with Heritage Carpets Company.
Since its inauguration 18 years ago, the number of visitors flocking to the Carpet Oasis has reached one million, with total sales value of more than Dh1.6 billion. More than two million carpets have been exhibited thus far.
New products are on display for the first time, including carpets woven out of pure silk, which take over ten years to make. The Oasis also exposes some of the oldest carpets dating back to 150 years.
The Carpet Oasis of this year is open for visitors Saturdays to Thursdays from 10am to 10pm and Fridays from 4pm to 11pm.