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Textiles From The Atlas Mountains

Before the 20th century there was little commercial demand for Berber textiles outside of Morocco, and they were mostly made by women for domestic use, as bedding or blankets. Variations in style across different ethnic groups can often be attributed to practical concerns such as the climate. In the Middle Atlas, for example, a mountainous region with extreme conditions, weavers tend towards the warmth of high pile carpets. In more clement areas, one finds a fine weave and low pile. Generally, the designs are striking and simple, with patterns or symbols floating on a white or cream ground.

This selection, which includes rugs, a woman’s ceremonial headscarf, and a saddle cover, was compiled by Gebhart Blazek, with whom the Gallery has previously collaborated.

Credits

Upcoming Exhibitions

Amanda Coogan in collaboration with Alvean Jones and Lianne Quigley with Dublin Theatre of the Deaf and the Centre for Deaf Studies
Freude! Freude!

The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art is excited to present a new work by renowned performance artist Amanda Coogan, Deaf artists Lianne Quigley and Alvean Jones with Dublin Theatre of the Deaf (DTD) and students from the Centre for Deaf Studies (CDS) at Trinity College Dublin. Freude! Freude! is a live exhibition, an embodied performance and installation which translates Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ode to Joy chorus into Irish Sign Language (ISL) and reinterprets the entire symphony through the lens of the Deaf experience. Using ISL as a choreographic language, Coogan, Quigley and Jones have worked with DTD and students from the CDS to produce an aural, visual and immersive feast that will be presented through a series of performances and exhibition installation.

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