The opening ceremony of the exhibition entitled "Thirty looms, a new look for Iranian hand-woven textiles" was held on Wednesday on 20 January 2016 at ECO Cultural Institute, attended by Sami'ollah Hosseini Makarem, Secretary of Policy Making Council of Management Development, Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, Sayed Abdolmajid Sharif Zadeh, Director of Iran Carpet Museum, Majid Majidi, world-known Iranian film director and a number of traditional arts and crafts enthusiasts.
Organized by ECO Cultural Institute in collaboration with "Ja'm Miras Jaha'n" Institute as well as Handicraft and Traditional Arts Department, Cultural Heritage Organization, the exhibition showcases an exquisite collection of Iranian hand-woven textiles from different regions of Iran.
"Iranian traditional textile with 7000 years of history over the centuries and through different eras have supplied clothing fabrics and home textiles as an important part of people's basic needs and have always provided fertile ground for the expression of the artistic taste and creativity of the dexterous artisans and artist." Said Iftikhar Husain Arif, President of ECO Cultural Institute in his speech at the function.
"Besides introducing Iranian traditional handwoven textile and identifying the enthusiast and practitioners in the region, the exhibition aims to establish cooperation in this field among the ECO Member States." He added.
Later at the event, Parisa Dehdashti, Director of "Ja'm Miras Jaha'n" Institute appreciated ECO Cultural Institute for organizing the exhibition and said: " today we have more than thirty types of traditional textiles, survived from industrial revolution, shortage of materials, changing lifestyles and other hardships."
Elaborating on the characteristics of the exhibited textiles, she said: "Almost 23 types of the textiles on display are made of natural raw materials."
Also Sayed Abdolmajid Sharif Zadeh, Director of Iran Carpet Museum said: "the most ancient textiles discovered in Iran belong to 7 thousand years ago. Thus, textile art is quiet ancient in Iran."
" sharing a common heritage, the ECO countries definitely can make an opportunity for making traditional fabrics, which are highly demanded worldwide. Today there is a potential to introduce the region's traditional art to the world."
Sami'ollah Hosseini Makarem, Secretary of Policy Making Council of Management Development, Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism also extended his gratitude to the organizer of the exhibition, ECO Cultural Institute in particular and said: " handicrafts are materialized form of Iranians genuine art. Traditional arts and crafts, especially textiles do not require much capital while make high exports benefits for a country. Next to oil, handicrafts hold a top position in the country's export.